


Voltron: Defenders of the Campus

by that_one_kid



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura (Voltron)-centric, College AU, Coran (Voltron)-centric, Earth AU, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, This fic ATE my life, allura is a BAMF, altea is in africa, altean is swahili as asssisted by the interwebs, canon altean words in there too, coran coran the exposition man, coran is a BAMF, coran is gay, everyone gets hurt at least once i think, i don't know how rv's work, really they all are, shiro adopted keith, space dads, there's some plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-08-08 13:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16430390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_one_kid/pseuds/that_one_kid
Summary: At Garrison University, there are a few students who are more than meets the eye. Well, there were. Then they all got bundled into that RV by that strange orange-haired man and traveled on a grand cross-country trip and... well, you'll see.





	1. Some Assembly Required

**Author's Note:**

> What do you get if you combine a lot of unsubstantiated headcanons about Altea, an idea for a college AU, and a deep and abiding love for our resident Alteans? A much longer fic than the author originally intended, that’s what. See end for trigger warnings for the whole fic. 
> 
> Also, I'm trying out this posting a chapter each week thing. Updates on Saturdays.

The night air was warm and humid as the two students walked across the dimly-lit campus. 

“The new handheld 3D scanner allows for a wide variety of uses…” the shorter one said, reading off a tablet and swerving across the sidewalk.

“Uh huh, Pidge. Go on,” the other student said, grabbing for Pidge’s shoulder and steering them back along the sidewalk. 

“These include crime scene analysis, forensic recreations, and- wait,” Pidge broke off. “Do you hear that, Hunk?” The faint sound of shouting drifted from the plaza to their left. 

“Yeah. It definitely sounds like we should not walk in there.” Hunk said, and then groaned as Pidge put the tablet away and veered directly towards the plaza. “Of course.”

They stepped through the archway and immediately Pidge started moving faster, hands curling into fists. A group of large, muscular men were standing around a single slender girl, dark-skinned but currently looking rather pale, who was clutching a backpack and glaring at them resolutely. 

“You ain’t from here, are you?” one of the men drawled, his voice sly and grating.“Go back to your own damn country!” Hunk started panicking internally but added his own forward rush to Pidge’s. “Maybe we ought to show you what we do to people who come begging into our country.” He looked around at his group, hands up, nodding along with the vicious shouts of encouragement. 

“Leave her alone!” Pidge yelled, grabbing the leader by the arm and yanking him out of the circle. Hunk rushed in through the gap and approached the surrounded girl, hands up placatingly. 

“Hi, sorry, I don’t know you but my friend just picked a fight I don’t know if we can win, so would you please leave this way with me, please?” Hunk was aware he was rambling, but the girl let him lead her out of the hole in the circle before everyone stopped staring at the tiny, slender, bespectacled nerd in a baggy green t-shirt staring them down. The group started forming up behind their leader and looming at Pidge. 

“This wasn’t your fight,” the stranger said to Hunk. Her voice was soft with a light trace of an unfamiliar accent 

“It is now!” someone yelled from behind Hunk, and Lance bolted past him. “Got your back, Pidge!” Lance continued loudly, settling into a position behind Pidge flipping off the group still looming at them. 

“Lance? What are you doing here?” Pidge asked.

“Looking for free pizza! You?”

“Saving the day.”

“Oh, then that’s what I was doing! What did I say? I’m doing that too!”

“Uh-huh,” Pidge said, keeping an eye on the group. Hunk led the unfamiliar girl a little further away from the brewing brawl and turned back, torn. Before he could make up his mind the sharp burst of a police siren split the tension. A man in a campus police uniform and a teenager in dark clothes ran up. They quickly stepped between the two parties. In one hand the officer held the megaphone that had emitted the siren. 

“What’s going on here?” The officer demanded, his other hand resting on his taser. The group of men dispersed with shocking speed, with glares for Pidge, Lance, and the girl now mostly standing behind Hunk. 

“Hello, Officer.” Pidge started. “Those guys were-“

“Being racist assholes,” Lance interjected. “And threatening people.” The officer took out a notepad and a pen and handed the megaphone to the boy in all black, who took it without missing a beat. 

“What exactly did they do?” There was a pause as everyone pointedly did not look at the girl before she stepped forward. Her voice, when she spoke, was now clipped and almost accent-free. 

“I was walking home when they stopped me. They called me several racial slurs and said that I had no right to scraps from this country and that I should go back to my own. They said they were going to teach me a lesson,” she said, and then stopped to take a deep, shuddering breath. “From their tone and posture, I assumed they were going to attempt to injure me. Then this kind person-” Here she pointed at Pidge, “-stood up for me, and this one-” she pointed at Hunk and he blushed. “-helped lead me out of the circle they’d formed around me to relative safety. And their friend came by looking for free pizza and stopped to help.”

“What? Pizza? Who mentioned pizza?” Lance spluttered. “Plus we’re not exactly friends, I only know Pidge from the class we have together.”

“Which is?” The Officer asked. 

“International crimes in the modern world. We-” Pidge said, and then stopped. “Wait, you’re in that class too, aren’t you?” The girl nodded. 

“Oh, yeah, she sits behind us,” Lance said. “Allura, right?” 

“Yes,” she said and smiled at him. “But I’m afraid I don’t remember your name.” Lance puffed up his chest and grinned back. 

“I’m Lance. This is Pidge.” He gestured to Pidge who nodded. “That’s Hunk. He’s not in our class, but he’s Pidge’s best friend.” Hunk waved. “And this is Keith!” The boy in black who’d arrived with the police officer rolled his eyes. “He’s in that class with us too! This is a weird coincidence, right?”

“I remember now! You two are always bickering about crime prevention methods.” Allura said, and Lance and Keith had the grace to both look slightly abashed. The police officer cleared his throat, and everyone jumped. 

“Sorry, sir,” Lance said meekly. 

“Keith, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?” The officer asked expectantly and Keith rolled his eyes again, somehow harder. 

“Guys, this is Officer Shirogane. He’s my dad.” Keith said, his tone bored.

“Please, call me Shiro,” The officer added. “Now, I have your statement down, Miss Allura, and I will file a report as soon as the office opens in the morning.”

“Good,” she said fiercely. “They should go down for this.”

“I will do my utmost to make sure they will. In the meantime, I just finished my shift, so can I give anyone a ride home in my cruiser in case those hoodlums are still lurking somewhere?”

“Yes, please,” Hunk and Allura said at the same time, and Lance raised his hand. 

“Pidge, what about you?” Pidge’s eyes were calculating, and the officer frowned. “Is something the matter?”

“Do you need our legal names for your report to go through?” Pidge said, and Shiro nodded slowly. “Then, um, my legal name is Katie. Katie Holt.”

“YOU’RE A GIRL?!?” Lance yelped, and fell over backward. Allura raised one eyebrow but that was the extent of her reaction. Since Hunk already knew and Keith didn’t care much, that left-

“WHAT?!? WHY IS NO ONE ELSE SURPRISED?” Lance yelled, and then seemed to realize he was shouting. He blinked rapidly and backed off. Pidge looked half amused, half terrified, still leaning away from the Cuban teen. 

“Sorry. Sorry. You just caught me off guard.” His eyes widened as he clearly thought of something else. “Wait,  _ are _ you a girl? Do you go by a different name because you’re trans or neutral gender or something?”

“I am a girl,” Pidge confirmed. “I’ve just had this nickname since…” her voice trailed off as she stared at something distant. “A long time,” she concluded, abruptly. 

“What about you, Hunk?” Lance asked, clearly bracing for more surprises.

“Hunk is my actual name.” Hunk said, smiling. “Hunk  Tui, ” 

“And my full name is Allura Smyth,” Allura noted. “If you need that.” 

“Lance Kogane.” Lance muttered.

“Thanks, everyone,” Shiro said when he finished writing. “Now, I guess I should get to the car so I can drive you all home.” They all piled into the cruiser waiting nearby, an SUV Keith called “the minivan” in a hissed whisper. 

“Where to first?” Shiro asked cheerfully, looking back at the assembled group. 

“Officer, you said you got off your shift, right?” Allura said, before anyone else could say something.

“I did,” Shiro said, confusion clouding his face. 

“Then please, everyone, join me at my Uncle’s house for dinner. As a thank you for intervening and saving me from an extremely unpleasant evening.”

“Free food? I’m in!” Lance crowed, and shrugged when Keith glared at him. 

“We’ll definitely come,” Hunk said, elbowing Pidge who smiled politely at Allura and elbowed him back. 

“Shiro? Keith?” Allura asked. “The food might not be exactly what you’re used to, but it’s the least I can do to thank you.”

“Of course, Miss Allura,” Shiro said, smiling. “It would be our honor.”

“Yeah, thanks for inviting us.” Keith said, and a chorus of ‘thank-you’s filled the car. Allura gave directions to Shiro, who drove them through the quiet streets before parking in the empty driveway of a shop called “Lion Garage” The group piled out of the car to stand there looking up at it.

Shiro, standing apart from the others, had noticed that as soon as he pulled up someone had rushed to the window. At the sight of the police car below the silhouette froze. Shiro’s hand drifted to rest on his gun. 

“Is this a garage for lions?” Lance asked, squinting up at the sign. Allura’s laugh was unexpected and musical. At the sound of it, the silhouette disappeared from the window and Shiro let out a quiet sigh of relief. 

“Don’t be silly,” Allura said, after a second. “Just for cars, trucks, RVs. That kind of stuff. My uncle can fix anything. We live in the apartment above it.” 

“Wow,” Pidge and Hunk said in unison, staring through the shop window at the workbench inside. 

“Is that the new handheld 3D scanner?!” Hunk asked Pidge, his voice high with excitement. At her eager nod he plastered his face to the window to get a better view. “Awesome!” 

The door flew open, slamming into the wall next to Hunk, who stood up straight with a yelp as Lance sprang away from the door. A man bounced out, dressed in a neon-orange night robe, fluffy lion slippers, and sporting an impressive mustache in a similar shade of orange as his robe.

“Allura!” he yelled, in a thick, almost New Zealand-ish accent. “We have guests!” Lance, still panting from fleeing the door, was frowning at the man. 

“You’re lucky I was far enough from the door,” he scolded. “If I’d been closer, I would have punched you when you startled me like that, like nyyaaaah!” He screamed the last part while assuming a fake karate pose. A tiny flicker of expression crossed the man’s face, too fast for Shiro to read, before he replied.

“Oh? Then I would have been like hyyyyyyyah!” he said, striking a similarly ludicrous pose. 

“Oh yeah? Then I would have-” Lance started, but Allura cut him off. 

“Sorry I didn’t warn you, Coran. It was kind of a last-minute thing.”

“Nonsense!” Coran said, curling his mustache with one hand. “Any friends of yours are always welcome here!” He beamed at the group invitingly. “Come in, come in!” 

He gestured them up the stairs and into the apartment, where he settled them in a small but cozy living room and fetched various waters and sodas with an alarming amount of enthusiasm. He disappeared upstairs, reappeared in a white-and-blue jumpsuit, and vanished again into the kitchen. 

“Dinner will be ready in just a few doboshes!” he called, and everyone looked quizzically at Allura. She made a ‘what-can-you-do’ gesture with her hands.

“Just a few minutes,” she translated. A large amount of rattling and hissing emerged from the kitchen moments later. Since Allura didn’t seem concerned, the group ignored it and set about getting to know each other. 

“So, you’re both majoring in criminal justice,” Hunk said after a while, pointing at Pidge and Keith. “Obviously Lance and I are in engineering,” 

“Wait, what?” Keith said, spinning to look at Lance. “Why are you in our International Crime class?” 

“Humanities credit,” Lance said. “Why, what did you think I was majoring in?” 

“I assumed art history or something like that,” Keith said, smirking.

“Hey!” Lance interjected. He kicked at Keith’s foot. Keith growled back and shoved at his shoulder. While the rest of the group continued talking, they started wrestling on the floor. Shiro just moved his legs out of the way and smiled at nothing in particular. 

“So, Allura, what’s your major?” Pidge said, turning to their hostess. She smiled.

“International relations. International crime is a required course for us, too.” 

“That’s awesome!” Hunk said, tipping the wrestling teenagers away from his chair with one foot. “What do you want to do with that?”

“I really want to join the UN.” Allura said, looking suddenly fierce. “I especially hope to push for protecting small, sovereign states on the edges of the expanding Galra Empire.” 

“Oh, yeah, they’ve been taking over a lot of countries lately, haven’t they?” Lance said, from where he was pinned on the ground by Keith. “That’s terrible. Good for you for standing up for them.” He squirmed, attempting to free himself, but collapsed back to the ground defeated. Keith looked proudly up from where he was sitting, perched atop Lance’s back. 

“So, Allura,” Hunk asked. “I don’t recognize you and your uncle’s accents. They’re very cool. Are you guys from around here?” Allura froze, mouth open and eyes wide. 

“Dinner!” Coran shouted, sweeping suddenly into the room. “Boys, no more sitting on each other. Wash your hands, and then we’ll all eat!” Shiro started laughing.

“We’re not five,” Keith grumbled. 

“I bet if you stop acting like five-year-olds, he’ll stop treating you like one.” Shiro said, and Lance and Keith walked off grumbling towards the bathroom Allura pointed out to them. Hunk and Pidge followed close behind, jabbering about the possibility of talking Coran into showing them the capabilities of the new 3D scanner in person. Shiro stayed seated, watching the way a suddenly-serious Coran pulled Allura aside, bending to put his head level with hers and standing so their conversation was shielded from the bathroom. They spoke softly, in a language Shiro didn’t recognize. He struggled to place it. He was curious as well about their country of origin, but he liked to think he was slightly more tactful than Hunk. Eventually, Allura nodded resolutely, and Coran put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Then he straightened up and beamed at the horde of teenagers emerging from his bathroom. 

“This is the best food from here to Wozblay, young ones! Enjoy!” he called, as he led them into the kitchen. Shiro washed his own hands (wouldn’t do to be called a hypocrite, now) and entered the kitchen to find four teenagers at the table, seated on an odd collection of chairs, staring at bowls of green… goo. That was honestly the best way to describe it. Allura and Coran were happily munching on their own bowls and making ‘go-on’ gestures at their horrified guests. Shiro sat down, took a deep breath, and ate a spoonful of his goo. His eyes widened as a variety of tastes hit him before the taste settled into something like a spinach and cheese pie. Satisfied that it was both edible and tasty, Shiro tucked in. After a second, he heard the others around him start eating as well. Conversation lagged as they worked their way through the meal. Finally, they reached the bottoms of their bowls. 

“Wow. That was delicious, Mr. Smythe.” Shiro said, and Coran grinned. 

“My full name is Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe!” he said, energetically gesturing with one hand and spilling some of his second bowl of goo onto the table. He hastily wiped it up with a napkin Allura resignedly handed him. “But you can just call me Coran.” 

“Well, thank you for the meal, Coran,” Shiro said. “Unfortunately, Keith and I must be going.” 

“Of course! But before you leave, one thing. I heard you all getting to know each other out there, so you must tell me what event brought the six of you together this evening!” There was an awkward silence. 

“Uh, I’ll tell you later, Coran.” Allura said, and Shiro knew he wasn’t mistaken in noticing the flash of real fear in the older man’s eyes. 

“Of course, of course, they have to go. How rude of me! Allura, would you like to walk our guests out to their vehicle?” 

“I will, _ Uncle _ .” Allura said, emphasizing the last word hard. Coran’s enthusiasm dimmed slightly, but he waved them off cheerfully as he started gathering the dishes from the table.

“Wow,” said Lance, when they were out of earshot. “He is way too energetic for this time of night.” 

“He’s always like that,” Allura said with a sigh. “You should never, ever, give him coffee.” There was a collective intake of breath at the idea of a caffeinated Coran, and then they’d reached the car. 

“Well, I’ll see you guys in class tomorrow,” Allura said, smiling at them. “Thanks again for your help this evening!” 

“Of course,” Shiro said, back in his official voice. “And I will let you know the progress of your report. I will have to notify your uncle when the report is filed, though.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Allura said. “I was planning to tell him tonight, anyways. He just gets… worried about me, and I didn’t want to upset him while we had company.”

“Of course, ma’am. Have a good evening.” Shiro got in the car and started it up while the teenagers talked.

“We should start a study group!” Pidge exclaimed suddenly. “Yeah, we could meet up and study for International Crime tests!”

“And Hunk could come and study engineering things with Lance,” Allura added quickly, glancing at the distressed look on Hunk’s face. “And you and Keith could study other... Criminal Justice... things,”

“Deal,” Keith said, unexpectedly. 

“I’m in,” Lance and Hunk said in unison, and Pidge nodded enthusiastically. 

“Tomorrow night?” Allura offered. “We can meet here. Coran is always thrilled when I have company.”

“See you then,” Keith said, and they pulled out of the driveway and headed off into the night.


	2. Fall Of The Castle Of Lions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I can remember to update! Lookit me no Coran no hands! Also, plot. Huzzah!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end for trigger warnings for whole work

The next day dawned hot and early, and Hunk hated every minute he spent outside lugging his thermodynamics textbook, laptop, and notebooks between buildings. He got lunch with Pidge, enthused about the new science they were learning about in materials, and had a generally normal day. But he couldn’t focus on any of it properly. Finally, he was waiting with Pidge in the library to meet up with the others to carpool to the Lion Garage. 

“I’m just so excited to have a big group to hang out with!” he said, and Pidge adjusted her glasses to stare him down.

“You may have mentioned that once or five hundred times,” she said. “C’mon, tell me about what you covered in differential equations!” 

“Why don’t you just major in engineering?” Hunk asked, losing his filter in his excited contemplation. He kept thinking for a moment before he abruptly realized that Pidge had gone quiet and still. When he glanced up, her face was white and tightly controlled. “Sorry! Sorry. I know. I know why,” he said frantically, trying to pull the words back out of the air.

“Do you?” Pidge said, her tone tight and cutting. “Maybe because three years after my father and brother disappeared there are no new leads on the subject?” She dropped her volume a bit and her tone turned snarky. “Don’t feel bad you forgot - apparently the police department did too.” 

“I’m sorry, Pidge. I know. I was just distracted.” Hunk said, hanging his head. Pidge punched him in the arm, hard enough that he knew she wasn’t really that mad. 

“It’s all right. It’s just a sensitive subject after last night.” 

“Yeah?” Hunk said neutrally, trying to focus on this important emotional conversation he was having instead of wondering if Coran would let him cook for study nights. 

“Yeah. Matt would have loved that garage,” Pidge said, and the raw emotion in her tone granted her Hunk’s full attention and a bone-crushing hug. 

“Anyway, it’s finally time. Here come the others.” Keith and Lance, turns out, were engaged in a full-scale argument about some crime-reducing technique that lasted up through arrival at the garage, embroiled Allura, and started the event with a roaring debate on a subject Hunk knew little about. He waited uncomfortably in the chair for them to finish and wondered if he might be getting in over his head. Maybe these people didn’t want to be friends with him. And between Pidge, Lance, and Keith it would be a wonder if he ever got a word in edgewise. Eventually, however, Allura tore herself away from the argument and came over to chat pleasantly with him about the weather before they got into a deep conversation about the personality types each of the members of the group would be. 

“I swear, Keith is ISTP,” Hunk was insisting when Coran appeared in the doorway and waved cheerfully in Allura’s general direction. 

“One second, Hunk, please,” she said, getting up and picking her way across the crowded living room full of sprawled teenagers and snacks. Coran spoke to her in an unfamiliar language for a minute, his customary hand gestures and dramatic facial expressions as wild as ever, and then disappeared. Allura waved Hunk over and he walked across the room, Pidge trailing behind him curiously. 

“Coran said he’d like to see you two in the garage if you have a minute,” Allura said, raising one eyebrow. “He wouldn’t say why, but don't worry. He’s mostly harmless.” 

“Mostly?” Hunk asked nervously, but she disappeared back into the Keith/Lance debate still raging behind them. “Uhhhhhhh...” he protested, but Pidge grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the staircase. 

“Don’t lie, you wanna see all the other cool toys he might own,” she said, by way of explanation, and Hunk followed without further argument. 

They walked into the garage, where the work lights were all gathered around what appeared to be a pile of scrap with two jumpsuited legs sticking out from underneath. At the sound of the door opening, Coran kicked one leg upwards, made a thudding sound, cursed softly, and shot out from underneath on a dolly. 

“Did he just say ‘quiznak’?” Hunk asked Pidge in an undertone as Coran fluttered about, setting down a wrench and picking up a rag. She shrugged. 

“What’s this?” Pidge asked, pointing up at the hulking monstrosity of rust and metal Coran had been lying under. 

“Oh, her?” He wiped his hands off on the rag, which was so dirty Hunk wondered if he was taking grease off of his hands or adding it. “I call her the Castle. Isn’t she a beauty? She’s a scrapped old RV I’ve been fixing up in my free time,”

“Allura said you wanted to see us?” Pidge said, her voice admirably unafraid. Hunk was still a little worried. He liked the mustachioed flamboyant Coran as much as anyone, but he wouldn’t put it past him to start yelling about ‘wizznarkles’ or burst into song. 

“Yes, I thought if you two wanted a break from the bickering out there that they call a study group, you could come in here and help me with the Castle. Of course, you’re welcome in the garage anytime!” he hastened to add, “But if you wanted to help with this project, all of the garage’s tools would be at your disposal...” he trailed off invitingly. Hunk and Pidge both eyed the new 3D scanner sitting on the nearby workbench, and then Hunk looked longingly at the metal deposition printer he’d spotted half-assembled in the corner. Pidge shot him a questioning look and he nodded enthusiastically.

“We’re in!” Pidge said, and then in a slightly quieter voice she added: “Can I put in a nitro boost system?” 

“Well, it does have a 50:50 chance of blowing up the entire machine,” Coran said, humming consideringly. Pidge tried out her puppy dog eyes, which Coran didn’t seem to notice. Hunk imagined living with Allura gave you immunity from puppy dog eyes. 

“All right. Sure! But be careful! And remember, neither of you are allowed to drive it without my permission.” Coran looked at Pidge when he said the last part.

“Not a problem,” Pidge said. “Neither of us have our driver’s licenses.” 

“What’re those?” Coran asked, and they both shot him alarmed looks. He laughed. “Relax, young engineers. I have a driver’s license.” He winked, and Hunk managed a strained laugh.

“Thanks, Coran. It’ll be nice to have something to work on that isn’t just schoolwork,” Hunk said.

“Of course! Now, I’ll leave you two with her to get more acquainted and see if I can’t rustle up some dinner.” Hunk waited until he left the room to sprint toward the new printer, while Pidge took the scanner. Three minutes later, watching the computer build a 3D reconstruction of his face, Hunk laughed.

“What?” Pidge asked. 

“A, I wonder if anyone has ever done the fax thing with a 3D scanner, not that I’m saying we should, just wondering. And B…” he paused. “I’m really glad you ran into that courtyard.” Pidge looked smug, and he flicked an oil-stained rag in her general direction. “Don’t get a big head about it.” 

“Too late!” she singsonged, and he rolled his eyes, trying to hold back his smile. 

“Dinner!” Allura shouted from the doorway, skipping down the steps and ducking under an extruding beam without looking. “Watcha working on?” 

“The Castle,” Hunk said proudly.

“Wow, he trusts you with the Castle already?” Allura said, sounding shocked. “That’s kind of a big deal. Good job, guys! He really likes you.” 

“Awesome!” Hunk paused. “Uh...Did you say something about dinner?” She laughed and led the way back towards the door.

“Ooh, and when we get a chance I want to show you my pet mice,” Allura said, as she turned out the garage lights and carefully shut the door behind them. “They’re adorable.” 

They piled into the dining room, got sent out to wash the grease and oil off their hands, and came back to find bowls of blue goo. Since the green goo had been delicious, Hunk just shrugged and dug in. The blue goo, he discovered, tasted like a strange soupy mixture of potatoes, cabbage, and bacon. He shrugged, helped himself to a second serving, and ate away. 

After dinner, Lance and Hunk helped put the dishes away and made engineering jokes to Coran while he put the leftovers away. He laughed hysterically at the obscure ones and blinked in confusion at the obvious ones, so after a while it became an unofficial contest of who could think of the most obscure engineering joke. When they ran out of dishes, and jokes, they headed back into the living room while Coran disappeared back into the garage. 

“One game of cards before we go?” Keith suggested, holding up a pack. 

“All right, if you’re prepared to utterly lose at poker!” Lance said, folding himself down into a sitting position next to Allura and winking at her. She rolled her eyes and ignored him, reaching for the deck. 

“I think you’ll find you’re the one losing,” she said, “At B.S.” 

“I vote Egyptian Rat Slap,” Pidge chimed in, from where she was hanging upside down off the couch behind the group. 

“I believe it’s dealer’s choice,” Keith said, his face calm but strangely focused. He started passing out the cards and explaining the rules, and Hunk struggled to hold back his laughter. His victory lasted until he heard Lance ask Pidge  _ one more time _ if she had a queen and she yelled “GO FISH!” so loudly that Coran came running in from the garage brandishing a towel in one hand and a socket wrench in the other. He looked questioningly at Allura, who eventually waved him off. It took her a second, though, because she and Hunk had collapsed into hysterical laughter at the indignant shout. The night seemed to blur by, and before he knew it they were collecting snacks and sticking textbooks back into their backpacks. Hunk found himself smiling broadly at nothing in particular.

“Hey, guys, let’s take a group pic!” Lance said, holding up his phone. “To the first study session!” Everyone cheered except Allura, who took a step back.

“Sorry, everyone, you’ll have to take it without me.” 

“No! C’mon, you gotta be in it!” Lance complained. “You brought us all together! You’re our cornerstone!” 

“That was a surprisingly educated statement,” Keith said, and Lance gave him a look.

“I’m an  _ architectural engineering _ student,” Lance said, and Keith shrugged. 

“Fair enough.” 

“C’mooooooooon,” Lance turned his attention back to wheedling Allura. She wavered, then gave in. 

“I suppose one picture couldn’t hurt. But no one tell Coran. He really doesn’t like me being in photographs.” 

“Okay,” Lance said, sounding a bit suspicious. “Weird, but okay,”

“Ooh, wait! I’ll go get the mice and they can be in the photo too!” Allura yelped, and ran off down a hallway previously unexplored. She returned a moment later with some frankly adorable mice that even Keith, previously wary, was charmed by. They took the picture and dispersed back to the waiting car outside. Shiro smiled as they all piled in, chatting like old friends, and started driving back toward campus. 

~ ~ ~

“I don’t care what you say, I’d take a regular taser any day over one of the water-based ones,” Keith was arguing, but Allura wasn’t really keeping track of the argument. She was reflecting. It hadn’t taken them all very long to become best friends. Of course, Pidge and Hunk had already been best friends, and Keith and Lance were still… something else… but the group had slotted together so easily. It was the first time in a long time she hadn’t found herself lonely at the end of each day, and she relished the easy comfort that came from the five of them all just hanging out. 

“I just don’t know that they’re consistent enough. What if the stream of liquid is broken?” Keith continued, and Allura smiled to herself. Pidge had just started a fierce counterargument when they rounded the corner and the Lion Garage came into view. 

“See, the stream of electrolyte carries the charge, so you can adjust as you’re firing…” Pidge said. “And then…” She kept talking, but Allura couldn’t hear her anymore as her ears filled with the sound of rushing blood. The front shop door was open, hanging weirdly like it was only attached at one hinge. Coran would never have left it like that. Not the careful, almost paranoid man who’d put three locks on their apartment door and who wouldn’t let her appear in pictures for fear of her being recognized. 

“Allura?” Pidge asked, and the worry in her voice broke through Allura’s rapidly increasing panic. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Someone broke in,” she said softly, barely registering Pidge and Keith switching instantly into police mode. She let herself be herded back to a safe distance, watched them rush in with (normal, non-liquid based) tasers Pidge had provided from nowhere. It wasn’t because of the picture. Right? Surely not. Surely he’d just been being paranoid. Just her crazy old uncle that she humored because she loved him and hated to see him scared. But the memories wouldn’t stop filling her head with dust and blood, choking her, reminding her of the last time Coran’s paranoia had been something other than simple fear. The look on his face when he’d rushed into the room and turned off the television. She staggered, and a concerned Hunk wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. 

“Clear!” Keith yelled after a long few heartbeats.

“Clear! Allura, come here!” Pidge’s voice was higher, sharper than usual. Something was wrong. Allura ran, slipping through the door. A distant part of her noticed the customer files tossed on the ground, the untouched cash register, the missing frame from Coran’s desk where the framed picture of them dancing together at the Father-Daughter dance in middle school usually sat. No cash taken, personal info viewed, photographs missing. A familiar pattern - this was a political hit. A sudden calm went through her mind, and she rounded the last corner to where Pidge was crouched over Coran, lying still and pale on the ground. Her stomach lurched, but the calm stayed regardless and she rushed over, gently moving a frozen Pidge out of the way and checking for a pulse. Coran had one, thank the ancients, steady and strong as she would expect from him. He was also breathing normally, and his eyelids fluttered as she gently combed his hair aside to find the lump growing there. 

“Coran?” she asked softly, and his eyes shot open. He sat up fast, looking around frantically with glazed eyes. 

“Allura?” he yelped, and the panic in his tone jerked at her stomach again. 

“Right here,” she managed to get out around the lump in her throat. “I’m okay. Are you okay?” Coran focused on her and calmed down significantly.

“Me? Of course, yes, I’m fine. But we have to get everyone out of here, now!” 

“What’s going on?” Lance asked from the doorway, and Allura looked up to see the rest of the group had crowded in after them. 

“Are you okay, Coran?” Hunk asked, his voice shaking. 

“To the garage!” Coran exclaimed and leapt to his feet. He swayed, and Keith and Lance jumped forward, each seizing an arm. “No, no, I’m fine.” He took a deep breath, visibly stabilized himself, and looked Allura in the eyes. 

“We have to go. Now.” The look in his eyes was one she’d hoped fervently to never see again. 

“They found us?” she asked, hating the plaintive note in her voice but unable to keep it out. 

“I’m afraid so,” he said softly, and Keith grasped his shoulder firmly. 

“It’s all right, Coran,” he reassured, his voice calm. “I’ve already called the police and an ambulance is on its way. Just try to calm down.” 

“What? Quiznak!” Coran glared at him, grabbing the two boys supporting him by their ears and dragging them towards the garage. Allura grabbed Pidge and Hunk by the hands and led them after. Inside, the cars were all destroyed - windshields shattered, tires slashed, smoking components laid on the ground.

“What happened here?” Pidge asked, her voice shaking. “Why would anyone destroy such beautiful cars for no reason?”

“Uhhhh, Pidge?” Hunk said in an undertone. “They also attacked Coran and randomly stole stuff? Tact?” 

“Oh, there was a reason,” Allura said, her voice thick. “They wanted to keep us from fleeing.”

“Okay, what on Earth is going on?” Hunk asked, sounding panicked now. “Is no one going to point out that the Lion Garage was broken into and Coran was attacked and we’re all just still going along like this is normal?” 

“Never mind that, who's ‘they’?” Keith asked, his tone sharp. “Is someone after you two?”

“They missed one!” Coran said triumphantly, yanking the sheet off of The Castle. “Everyone in, now!” 

“What? I don’t think-” Pidge started. 

“They saw the police report!” Coran said, his voice tight. “They know your names, and they know where you go to school. We have to go, all of us. Now!” Allura felt the wind go out of her. She’d only realized their cover was blown. She’d almost forgotten that she could take her friends down with her. The blood and dust started to encroach on the edges of her mind again, and she felt Coran gently guide her into the back of the RV. He shoved the others in after her and slid the door shut before climbing up into the tricked-out driver’s station. 

As far as Allura had ever been able to tell, the Castle control station bore little to no resemblance to the classic method of controlling a vehicle, missing a steering wheel, gas pedal, and obvious method of braking. “Look on the bright side!” Coran called back to everyone in the back, as he spun one of the mysterious knobs and yanked on a lever. “We’ll get to see how well the modifications Pidge, Hunk, and I made work!” 

“Not comforting!” Lance yelled back, a faint trace of humor still present in his voice. The garage door finished opening and without another word, Coran tore out of the garage at an alarming speed and took them along the fastest route to the highway. In minutes, they were zooming down the interstate and a tiny bit of the tension had bled out of Coran’s razor-straight posture. 

“Everyone buckled?” he called back, and there was an answering groan from Hunk. 

“Well, we are  _ now _ !” Pidge said, disapproval mingling with amusement in her tone. 

“That’s it. I’m calling Shiro.” Keith said. Allura saw Coran flinch.

“We can trust Shiro,” Allura said, her voice as full as conviction as she could manage. “He wasn’t the one that sent them the report.” The rest of the teenagers gave her odd looks, but Coran nodded slightly back at her in the rearview mirror.

“Obviously not. First of all, he’s a good person. Second of all, he’d never risk me getting hurt by sending whoever they are after you when he knows we’re friends.” Keith said, and there was a beat of silence.

“Wow.” Pidge said. “I know this isn’t the time, but that might be the most words I’ve heard you say anywhere outside of an argument with Lance.” 

“Shut up,” Keith said, defensively. Coran seemed to come to a decision, twisting another dial on the passenger side and latching a joystick in the forward position before twisting in his seat. 

“Coran! Road!” Hunk yelped, and Coran shrugged. 

“Autopilot is engaged. Tell Shiro to meet us at the gas station in the place we discussed last week. He’ll know what I mean. Don’t say anything else!”

“Why not?” Pidge asked.

“The phone lines could be bugged.” Allura pointed out, trying to keep her breath under control. This was not the same as last time. They knew, they were warned, they were free. Everything was under control. There was a honking from the road ahead and Coran twisted back around, unlocked the joystick, and swerved lanes just in time to avoid slamming into a sudden slowdown of traffic. 

“Is he aware that cruise control is not the same as autopilot?” Lance stage-whispered, and there was a scattering of nervous laughter. Allura leaned back and tried to make the most of the company she’d been so glad of just half an hour before, listening as Keith made the cryptic phone call and smiling weakly as Lance pulled Keith’s ever-present deck of cards out of his backpack.

“Fine, I will play literally anything as long as it’s not Go Fish again,” Pidge said, dragging a table across the floor of the RV and setting it between everyone. 

“How long to this gas station?” Keith asked, and Allura shrugged. 

“Poker it is,” Lance said, and started dealing.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


	3. Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the Road Again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end for trigger warnings for whole fic

When they pulled up to the gas station, a frowning Shiro in battered jeans, a faded band t-shirt, and a trucker hat was slouched at one of the gas pumps. Keith went over to him and the two exchanged a brief hug before disappearing into the gas station to retrieve a requested list of items. Allura and Coran stayed in the RV while Hunk pumped gas. After a long few minutes, Keith and Shiro reemerged. Coran pulled forwards into the parking lot as they distributed their goodies. 

“All right, we have gummy worms for Pidge, a sandwich for Hunk, Cheetos for Lance, a bag of twizzlers for Allura, a Snickers for Keith, water for everyone, two burner phones, eight cans of Spaghettios, and, um… three bottles of 5-hour energy for Coran.”  Shiro said. “First of all, Coran, do you want me to drive for a bit?” 

“Could you? That would be splendid!” Coran said, twisting around to look at Shiro. He gestured at the dizzying arrays of dials, switches, levers, and knobs. “It’s not that complicated, but Pidge put in a nitro system you have to keep an eye on and there’s this leak in the oil that I’m fixing by just continuously running some oil in from a spare tank I’ve got attached to this knob, and…” 

“Actually, maybe you should keep driving for a bit,” Shiro said. “My car can’t fit all of us. So. Now that that’s settled. What the HELL is going on?!?” His outburst was so sudden that half of the people in the RV jumped. At Allura’s nod, Coran stepped forward. “We’re in… a sort of witness protection.” Coran said. “Political witness protection. There are some very bad people after us. And they are willing to cause collateral damage to get rid of us, especially Allura. We’re going to the office of the witness protection program. Since you’ve been identified as our allies, it would be best if you came with us, but we won’t force you to.” 

“I think it’s best if we don’t go back into the town full of known killers looking for us.” Hunk said, his voice surprisingly steady. “Although at some point today I hope we stop to acknowledge how crazy this all is.”  

“Agreed.” Pidge said. “About the not going back. Not the stopping to acknowledge crazy.” 

“I don’t want to put my family in any danger,” Lance said reluctantly. “I’ll stay with you guys.” 

“We should continue on until nightfall, and then we can stop & sleep somewhere once it gets dark.” Shiro said, and Allura could have sworn Coran’s mustache actually wilted slightly. He reached resignedly for the 5-hour energy Shiro held out to him and somewhat ineffectively tried to hide his yawn.

“I know it’s a lot, Coran, but we’re counting on you.” Allura said, putting a hand on his shoulder and trying her best to convey confidence and hope. 

“Yes, Princess,” he said, his voice firmer. He straightened up and drank half of the 5-hour energy before his eyes widened and he realized what he’d said. The rest of the group was blinking at him in befuddlement. 

“Pr-Princess?” Lance struggled to get out, rather unsuccessfully holding back his snickers. They may have been slightly hysterical, not that Allura was in any state of mind to judge.

“An old and embarrassing pet name,” Allura said, her tone sharp. “That he had promised not to use anymore.” Coran shrugged and tapped his head with his free hand, giving her an apologetic look.

“Old habits, you know. I’ve got so many memories up here that my mind is like an old storage unit.”

“Sure, if it’s been flooded and pushed over a cliff,” Allura muttered, and Coran frowned at her. “Sorry,” she added hastily. “I think I’m just tired. I appreciate you doing all this driving for us.” 

“Of course, Allura.” She could hear the Princess behind her first name anyway. She’d never been sure how he could subvocalize the term of respect, but he managed it well enough. They pulled back out onto the interstate and after a few hours of cards, Allura felt herself begin to doze off. She straightened up and glanced around the RV. Pidge and Hunk were already asleep, leaning on each other heavily. Keith was dozing off, staring out the window with headphones on. Lance was curled into a ball, snoring quietly. In the front, Coran was driving, his entire attention focused on the road but an all-too-familiar strain still in his posture. Allura laid her head in her arms and let the tears come until she drifted off to sleep. 

~ ~ ~

“What’s really going on, Coran?”  Shiro asked, as soon as the rowdy teenagers in the back had quieted into sleep. The older man flinched, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the road. He fiddled with a knob and the gas tank indicator, previously reading almost empty, began to fill slowly. Shiro shook his head at the increasing surreality of the evening and tried again. 

“I’m a police officer. My job is to help people. Just let me know who’s after us and why, and maybe I can help.” Coran didn’t glance away from the road, but he shifted a bit. Sensing reluctance, Shiro pressed him. 

“My kid is in danger because of whatever it is you two are involved in. I left my husband alone and worried several hundred miles away. Whatever is going on, I have a right to know!” His voice rose to a much louder volume than he’d intended, and he cleared his throat apologetically.

“I know,” Coran said, and his voice was softer than Shiro had ever heard the jovial, dramatic redhead be. The tears shining in his eyes were also unexpected, and Shiro felt his anger melt away. “I know. But I can’t trust you.” 

“Why not?” Shiro asked, and Coran glanced at him for the first time, only for a moment, before switching his intense focus back to the road. Shiro shivered, feeling like he’d just had his soul dispassionately examined.”They already know you’re here, right?” Shiro continued, “Even if you don’t trust me, you could tell me whatever it is our enemy clearly already knows.” 

“I’d have to ask Allura,” Coran said, and Shiro frowned. That didn’t sound like something a parent or guardian would normally say. Maybe something here wasn’t what it seemed. There was a quiet noise from behind him, and then Allura climbed up into the middle seat, perching on the third seat squeezed between the driver and passenger sides. Her hair was mussed from sleep and her eyes were red, but she seemed calm enough considering the circumstances. 

“It’s all right, Coran. We’ll have to tell him eventually. Tell all of them. It’s only fair.” Coran exchanged a look with her before nodding slowly. “Maybe we should pull over first,” Allura added. “I…” her voice broke. “I don’t think I can tell it. I’m sorry.” 

“No need to apologize, Princess!” Coran said easily. “There’s a rest stop just a few dobashes ahead. We can pull in there and I’ll explain.” There were a few tense moments as they pulled off the road, settling into a spot. Coran locked the doors, twice, and set the parking brake before he clambered back over the seats and sat at the head of the table. Allura went around gently waking the other students, and Shiro joined them all at the table as Coran, eyes distant, began to speak. Again, his voice was unsettlingly soft and calm. 

“About fifteen years ago, Allura and I didn’t yet live here in the United States. We lived in a distant country, called Altea.” Pidge and Hunk traded worried glances and Lance looked to Keith for a reaction. “I was the advisor to the royal family and a high-level engineer. My main task, however, was my favorite.” Here Coran’s tone grew fond, and a little of his usual animation returned. “I raised the heir to the Altean throne, teaching her everything from formal ballroom dancing to hand-to-hand combat to quantum physics.”

“And you were a great teacher.” Allura said, smiling fondly at him. She rested a hand on his shoulder. 

“Wait, are you saying-” Keith started, and then broke off. 

“Are you… are you a real princess?” Hunk asked, something approaching awe in his voice. Allura’s eyes swam.

“I was,” she said, her voice choked. “I-” she broke off, and Coran continued hastily.

“When the Princess was eight, I took her with me on a diplomatic mission to the United States. We were there when the Galra Empire launched an attack on Altaea.” The RV was silent now, all eyes trained on Coran despite the fact that the storytelling was devoid of his trademark enthusiastic gestures. “The Galra are led by a terrible man, Emperor Zarkon. He and the King of Altea used to be friends, before exposure to a dangerous experimental weapon drove the Emperor mad. He saw this invasion as the culmination of a personal vendetta. The Alteans surrendered, peacefully, rather than lose so many of their soldiers to the superior Galra forces.” His voice wavered, but he pressed onwards. “The Galra took control of Altea and executed every man, woman, and child in the country.” He paused, drawing in a ragged breath. Allura was crying silently, leaning into his side. “Including-” he broke off, cleared his throat, and tried again. “Including-” he broke off again. Allura straightened up, her eyes fierce through the tears. 

“Including my father, King Alfor. And Coran’s husband. It was a total genocide.” The RV was somehow even quieter now, and Shiro caught himself holding his breath. Allura and Coran had settled back to looking sad and distant, though neither one was crying now.

“Altea was an extremely technologically advanced civilization. Quality of life was very high, especially compared to the surrounding area.” Coran continued, after a beat. “Citizens almost always stayed within the country’s borders. There were only two Altean citizens outside the country on the day of the genocide - Allura and myself. We sought political asylum here in the United States, and after several years of painfully waiting in a government facility, we received it.” 

“But Coran feared that Galra agents would pursue us, even here.” Allura continued. “Because of their Emperor’s hatred for my father, and to finish the deplorable extinction they’d started. So we moved often while I was growing up. I focused on trying to join the UN, to prevent anything like this from ever happening again, and Coran tried to recreate some of the Altean technology. Since I was so young when the country fell, most of our knowledge and traditions live on only in his memory. But I… I didn’t believe him that the danger had pursued us here. I insisted that we stay in one place for long enough that I would be able to graduate university and go on to join the UN.” Allura’s voice was quiet. “So they found us.” 

“It’s not your fault, Princess!” Coran objected immediately. Shiro nodded distantly. Then there was a long, silent pause.

“I can’t…. I am so sorry for everything that the two of you have lost.” Lance said, eyes swimming. “I can’t imagine losing my family, my whole culture, all at once like that.” 

“I lost my dad and my brother when I was young,” Pidge chimed in hesitantly. “And I know that I can’t imagine what you’re feeling, but if you ever wanted to talk about that, or anything, I’m here.” 

“Thank you,” Allura said, sincerity ringing in her every word. Shiro shifted closer to Keith, who was staring out the window silently, tears running down his face. He leaned into Shiro’s side, hard.

“This makes me think of my family,” he whispered so softly even Shiro had to strain to hear him. “My other family.” 

“I know, “ he said softly, brushing the tears from Keith’s face with one hand. “Me too.” Behind them, a sobbing Hunk flung himself into a huge bear hug engulfing Coran and Allura both. Pidge and Lance joined in a second later, and Keith unexpectedly dragged Shiro into the hug as well. They sat there like that for a second, all holding each other and everyone hastily brushing tears from their eyes. Shiro, wrapped mostly around Coran, felt the tension in the man’s wiry shoulders release for a moment, and Allura leaned into the hug, eyes closed and the barest hint of a smile on her face. Then Coran started to squirm out from under his arm.

“We need to keep going,” he started. “We can’t stay still too-”

“Quiznak!” Allura yelled, and the group quickly let go of her. She was shaking. “Coran, my mice! They’re locked in their cage in the house! They need to be fed and given water and-” 

“We can’t go back, Princess. It’s too dangerous,” Coran said, wincing. “And anyone who goes into the garage will be immediately seized by Galra agents and used as a hostage. I’m sorry.”  

“No,” Allura said softly, and her face fell. “No. You’re right. We go on.” 

“It’s okay!” Hunk said, quickly. “Sorry, I was going to mention earlier but so much happened. They’re here, in the RV!” 

“What?” Allura said, and Shiro had to look away from the sight of the teenager trying to force back the hope rising in her face. “Where?” Hunk reached down and lifted the half-eaten bag of Cheetos that Lance had dropped when he’d fallen asleep. It squirmed with movement, and then three orange-dusted mouse heads appeared over the edge of the bag. Allura ran forwards and snatched the bag, crashing full speed into the ragged couch across the RV. She was clutching the bag of mice to her chest. 

“Thank you, Hunk! Oh my goodness! Thank you!” she exclaimed, stroking the mice’s heads. They clambered out of the bag and up onto her shoulder, leaving a trail of Cheeto dust.

“I didn’t really do anything.” Hunk protested. She beamed at him anyway. 

“Seatbelts, everyone!” Coran crowed from the front seat, his voice back to being cheerful and even more heavily accented than usual. Shiro shook his head in amazement. The joy was genuine, he knew. Meanwhile, Coran adjusted the mirrors, turned four knobs, pushed a large red button twice, and spun a joystick as Shiro clambered up into the seat next to him. 

“Guys, this is basically the Magic School Bus!” Pidge cried suddenly. “I knew that line sounded familiar!” 

“Quiznak, yes, and Coran is Ms. Frizzle!” Allura agreed enthusiastically.

“And Keith is Janet!” Lance added, grinning. 

“At my old school, we never fled government assassins.” Keith chimed in, deadpan, and everyone started laughing, dissipating the heavy haze of earlier emotion. When they saw Coran’s quizzical stare, they started trying to explain the Magic School Bus series through a sequence of half-remembered plot lines and an enthusiastic, if off-key, rendition of the theme song. Coran gave them a cheerfully baffled smile in response, and Shiro said somewhat shyly,

“You know being Ms. Frizzle is a compliment from them, right?” 

“I took it as nothing else!” Coran reassured him, tugging on his mustache. He lowered his voice. “But this school bus is not quite so magical. We will need to stop for gas and food soon.”

“And you’ll need sleep. I know. Maybe we can find a motel off the beaten path in the next town.” Shiro said, watching a sign flash by. “I mean, a town called Nightvale? We probably won’t be too conspicuous.” Coran hummed in agreement and took the next exit.

“Hey, Coran?” Shiro said, after a long quiet pause punctuated by giggles and crashes from the back of the RV. “You did a good job. Of keeping her safe. Keeping them all safe. I'm sorry I blamed you for this earlier.” 

“You were protecting your child,” Coran said, patting Shiro absentmindedly on the shoulder. “Of course you were angry.” He pulled into a spot outside the nearest motel. “Mind going in and getting the room for us? I’m a bit… conspicuous.” He gestured at his bright orange hair, and Shiro noted absently that his eyes were a striking shade of violet. He was surprised he hadn’t noticed sooner.

“Sounds like a good idea,” he said, tugging his baseball hat down over his face and stepping out of the RV.


	4. Eye of the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things fall apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, missed my post day. I'm still new at this whole posting regularly thing. Here's the chapter now. Trigger warnings for the whole fic at the end.

Pidge couldn’t believe the events of the past few days. She’d thought, once, that the mysterious disappearance of half of her family had rendered her immune to surprise. She had discovered her error somewhere among the revelations that her friend was a real-life princess, Shiro could and would actually cry, she and her classmates were on the run from government assassins, Keith talked about baby monkeys in his sleep, and there was a serious side to the eternally, terrifyingly cheerful Coran. 

“Hey, Pidge, do you think this is enough food for the next few days?” Hunk asked, and Pidge tore herself out of her thoughts to regard the heaping pile of food that had appeared in their cart. 

“How many of us do you think there are, Hunk?” Pidge said, poking through the pile. “I mean, seriously, a 12-pack of ramen? Eight cans of chili? What are we going to do with all of this?”

“I figured, people are hungry, and this is the last chance we might get to stop for food for a while,” Hunk said, utterly unabashed. He usually was. It was one of the things Pidge liked about him. 

“A dozen donuts?” Pidge said, and the damn smile was creeping onto her face.

“You know you love my shopping skills,” Hunk said smugly, and Pidge gave up and smiled back. It wasn’t like she could keep her amusement from him anyway. 

“Hey, Pidge?” Hunk’s voice had grown slower and more careful, and she gave him her full attention. When he acted like this, he was talking about something important. “Do you think we’ll be able to go home soon?” 

“I’m not sure,” Pidge answered honestly. “It seems like whoever we’re running from is pretty powerful, to keep Coran and Allura on the run for so many years.”

“That’s what I was thinking. I miss home.” Hunk said. “And I bet we’re going to be super behind in our classes.” 

“Can you imagine Professor Parnaby’s reaction?” Pidge said, chuckling despite herself. 

“She’s probably combing the campus looking for us. She loved our last discussion on how you could automate redesigning circuits for manufacturability.” Hunk said, smiling fondly. “I hope she’s not too worried.” 

“We’ll get home soon, I think,” Pidge said. “Until then, we better go check out. Apparently, we have several hundred people to feed.” She gestured at the heaping cart. They headed towards the self-checkout, and Pidge stood looking out the grocery store entryway while Hunk swiped and bagged their items. 

“Hey, Hunk?” she said, the hair on the back of her neck prickling. “Hurry, okay?”

“What’s wrong?” 

“I’m not sure. Something seems off, though. Give me a second to correlate the data.” Hunk just nodded and sped up the rate of scanning the groceries. Another motorcycle pulled into the parking lot outside and it fell into place. Four identical motorcycles, taking up flanking positions on the Castle parked outside. 

“Now, Hunk, we have to go!” Pidge shouted, grabbing as many bags as she could carry.

“No, I haven’t paid yet!” Hunk said, and Pidge dragged him along. 

“It doesn’t matter! They found us!” Hunk swept the rest of the groceries up in one motion and they sprinted towards the RV, leaving alarms ringing and disgruntled store employees shouting after them. Coran was already at the wheel, starting the Castle up and waving them frantically onward from the window. Shiro was waiting in the doorway, and as they drew level with the car he lifted Pidge bodily into the main car, groceries and all. Then he turned back to help Hunk up as a deafening rattle split the air. 

“Everybody down!” Shiro yelled, before he jerked backwards into the car with a grunt. Coran left the wheel to swing the door open wider for cover against the gunfire, because that’s what it was. Gunfire. He helped Hunk scramble in, and Pidge dropped the groceries to rush over and check Hunk for injuries. Keith bolted past her and slammed the passenger door. Coran, who had been bent over Shiro, leapt into the driver’s seat. 

“Keep pressure on it, Keith!” he yelled, and pulled the RV out of the lot as fast as he could manage, swerving to avoid the worst of the still-rattling gunfire from the motorcyclists.

“Stay down!” he was yelling, over and over, even after the sound of the gunfire had faded slightly. Pidge jumped as a fresh burst of gunfire came from her right side. One of the RV’s dirty windows shattered, sending a hail of glass onto the assembled teenagers lying jumbled together on the ground. Keith was crouched over Shiro, pressing a jacket tightly to his shoulder. Blood pooled on the ground around him, and Keith was saying something, voice high and frantic. 

“Coran!” Allura yelled from the back of the RV. She was lying on the ground, propped up enough to peer out a back window. “They’re gaining on us!” 

“This is as fast as we can go!” Coran yelled back, and Pidge and Hunk made sudden frantic eye contact. 

“The nitro system!” Hunk yelled. “The one Pidge installed!” 

“The one that has a 50% chance of blowing us all into tiny little flaming bits?!” Coran yelled back, then yelped as a bullet shattered the driver’s side window. 

“I don’t think we have much of a choice!” Allura yelled, crawling past Pidge and sliding herself into the passenger seat. 

“Allura, it is far too dangerous up here!” Coran protested, twisting his head once to look at the assembled crowd behind him. Blood ran down his cheek from a gash, presumably from some of the broken glass. Pidge noticed a wet trickling and belatedly realized she was bleeding as well, from a large sliver of glass embedded in her arm. Hunk had noticed and was trying to tug it out with the pliers on his Swiss Army Knife. He had a towel at the ready that Pidge woozily wondered if he’d produced out of thin air. 

“You need a copilot to run the nitro system!” Allura yelled back, sounding further and further away. “Shiro is hurt, Pidge is hurt, Hunk is taking care of Pidge! I’m the best you’ve got!” 

“Hey!” Lance yelled from the back, where he had taken over Allura’s view of the road behind them. Then, “We have incoming! Two more bikes, gaining fast!” 

“Initiating nitro system!” Allura yelled. “Get ready!” 

“How does she know how to do this?” Pidge asked Hunk, trying not to slur her words. He looked awfully worried, wrapping the towel tightly around her arm. “She’s an international relations major?” 

“She grew up with Coran,” Hunk said, and Pidge nodded sagely. Made sense. Then the world tilted at a 57 degree angle and went all grey before she stopped noticing anything at all. 

~ ~ ~ 

“Pidge? Pidge?” Hunk asked, shaking her shoulder, and then he found himself flat on his back as the RV surged forward in a massive acceleration. There was no immediate flaming death, although there were some manic shouts from the two piloting their suddenly high-velocity vehicle. 

“Guys!” Keith yelled. “I think Shiro’s hurt really bad!” Lance crawled towards him, holding another towel retrieved from the bathroom. Meanwhile, the RV kept swaying, sudden and rapid, and Hunk spared a moment to desperately hope that Coran managed to keep it from tipping. At these speeds rolling the RV would probably kill everyone inside. Another burst of gunfire and a worrying shout of pain from the front startled him, but then the gunfire began to fade away. 

“We’re outrunning them!” Coran yelled, his voice high and strained. 

“Get us out of their line of sight, let’s lose them!” Allura yelled back. The RV swerved, tipped onto two wheels, and settled just in time to skid around a corner. Coran must have pulled a turn using the parking brake, Hunk noted, and returned his attention to Pidge. She had a pulse, and her breathing was steady. He’d slowed the rate of blood loss. His best guess was shock and exhaustion, so he tried to elevate her head and hold her relatively steady as the RV jerked again, made a sharp turn, and then screeched to a halt. Coran ran past, yanking a camouflage tarp out of a box in the back and disappearing outside. After a moment, he returned looking only slightly less manic. 

“They’ve missed us, I saw them go past on the main road back there! We’ll be safe here for a while. No one use any cell phones or technology!” 

“We need a hospital!” Keith yelled, bending over Shiro, and Coran knelt beside him. There was a long, breathless moment before Coran leaned over and did something complicated and Shiro’s arm fell off. Hunk drew in a deep breath, breathed back out, and fainted anyway. 

~ ~ ~

“Jesus!” Lance yelped when Shiro’s arm came off. “Warn a guy!” Hunk slumped to one side, suddenly ashen. “Quiznak, Hunk fainted.” No one seemed to be paying attention to him, despite his accidental Altean curse, so he crawled over and propped the big guy upright. Coran started calming Keith down.

“It’s all right, Keith. See here, the bullet only hit his prosthetic and ricocheted into his shoulder. It might bleed for a while longer, but he hasn’t lost too much blood and it hasn’t damaged any organs,” As he talked, he retrieved a first aid kid from under the couch (Obviously, why hadn’t Lance looked there first) and cleaned Shiro’s now-armless shoulder (Stump? Was it rude to call it a stump?) with the disinfectant before covering it in antibiotic and thoroughly bandaging it. Allura took over, checking the groaning and rapidly awakening man for more injuries. Coran slid across the glass-covered floor to where Lance was trying to balance Pidge and Hunk, taking a moment to glance quizzically at him. 

“I think Hunk fainted but Pidge is definitely hurt,” he gritted out, and Coran nodded. He cleaned and dressed Pidge’s wound as well, wrapping her arm tightly. He then fumbled around the main cabin area for a moment before returning with waters and granola bars. 

“Make sure everyone has at least two waters and one meal bar,” he said to Lance, and went in search of what he called “a sweeper and a sweeper-into” to clean up all the broken glass before “more injuries befell them.” His English seemed to have deteriorated mildly, not that Lance could blame him given the situation. He made the rounds, talking a numb Keith into drinking his first water and starting him on a granola bar and providing the required materials to the Princess (it seemed so normal to call her that, which was weird in and of itself). She thanked him and chugged one water immediately, shoving the granola bar into her mouth. He moved to the unconscious duo next.  
“Hey, Hunk, you awake?” Lance said, and Hunk groaned and sat up slowly. “Here, I have some waters for you and Pidge, and some granola bars. I think your blood sugar is probably low.” 

“Thanks, Lance,” Hunk said, sounding grateful. Even the now stirring Pidge managed a faint 

“S’thanks, Lan,” 

“Everyone’s all bandaged up now, I think, and there’s no more glass on the floor,” Coran said from the doorway. “I looked around and there’s still no sign of our pursuers,” 

“We need to take inventory, rest, and take care of the wounded.” Allura said, her voice commanding. “First of all, is anyone hurt in any way that hasn’t been tended?” Lance checked himself over to be sure and shook his head. Hunk did a similar once-over, of himself and then of Pidge and shook his head as well. Keith raised one hand to his recently-bandaged forehead and looked a little surprised that it was already taken care of. Lance maturely decided to not mention at that moment that it was a Princess Elsa bandage (even though he had  _ so _ many good jokes). Coran looked down at the small puddle of blood below him and looked surprised. 

“That’s not coming from me,” he said, voice certain despite the absurdity of the claim. He shifted over a few feet and blood started pooling under him again. Allura circled him, humming irritatedly, before launching herself at him and bandaging both the minor cut on his cheek and a deep gash across his back he’d apparently not noticed. He looked more surprised than put-upon, and as soon as Allura released him he set about cleaning and reassembling the interior of the RV while Allura helped Lance chide everyone into eating and drinking their food and water. Eventually, he vanished outside and faint clanking echoed from below them. 

“Presumably he’s fixing up whatever damage we took from the bullets,” Allura said with a sigh. The pale bandage she wore on her chest stood out strikingly against her dark skin (and that was the only reason he was looking, honest).

“Should he be doing that with that... bullet... gash...  thingy on his back?” Lance asked, because she seemed like she wanted a response.

“No. But I can’t stop him and no one else can fix it right now, so here we are. Now, inventory. Who’s hurt, how badly, what do we need, and how many supplies do we have left?”

“All right.” Lance said. He took a deep breath. “Keith is scratched up, in shock, and resting by Shiro. Shiro has a minor bullet wound,” (as if there was such a thing), “But is awake, rehydrated, and doing well. Hunk has eaten and is no longer feeling faint, especially now that all the blood and broken glass has been cleaned up. Pidge’s arm is cut and bandaged, and she’s also resting over there on the couch. We have plenty of bandages, antibiotic ointment and pills, painkillers, antiseptic, and tape due to a terrifyingly well-stocked first aid kit,” Allura smirked proudly, and Lance suspected it was one of her contributions to her uncle’s so-called Castle. “We have like ten gallons of water, thank Hunk for that, so enough for several days. We also have some miscellaneous water bottles, a ton of canned and non-perishable food, and several cans of what I hope is fuel for the Castle but might be some kind of illicit moonshine.” Pidge laughed weakly from the couch. 

“Well done, Lance!” Allura said, pride radiating off of her. “You took to this position quite well.” 

“I mean, I was the only one not hurt, so…” Lance trailed off.

“And I would have picked you for this either way,” Allura corrected him. “You are calm and rational in the time immediately following a crisis, which we desperately needed today.” Lance couldn’t help standing a little taller. 

“I’m glad to have helped.”

“Now, you should get some rest. We all should.” Allura stomped her foot in an irregular pattern, and after a second was answered by a faint banging. “Coran will be up shortly. We can take turns being on watch, and settle in. We may be here for a while.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


	5. Collection & Extraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old enemy resurfaces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end for trigger warnings for whole fic

Despite Allura’s fears, they were on the road again relatively quickly. After a few days, they settled into an uneasy routine. Each morning, the team checked in about the progress of their various injuries healing. They played card games and bantered quietly as Coran showed his rapidly progressing copilot the controls. Allura took to the role with a passion that Keith thought was both practical and relatable - all the waiting around was making him itch to be useful too, so much so that he was volunteering to help Coran go out and find wood for their campfires. Each night when they set up camp, Shiro had them running a routine that he insisted would tire them out enough to make the long hours in the car more bearable. They ran in a group, did pushups and pull-ups when they found forests, they practiced hunting where Shiro deemed it legal or at least not risky. 

After the first week or so on the road, Allura started to take over for Coran while he napped and they spent more time on the road without stopping. It did wonders for their mileage, but everybody was starting to get cranky. It got really bad about two weeks from when they’d first left the Garrison campus. 

“I don’t think P.E, my least favorite class, is really the ideal way to be spending an evening!” Pidge snapped as Shiro started rounding them up. “I could work with Coran on fixing the trailer, or, y’know, watch some Netflix.” 

“Um, I could probably cook a better meal if I got to start earlier,” Hunk said, the simple statement practically an open declaration of hostility from the conflict-avoidant teen. Shiro winced. 

“I know it’s hard right now, but staying on a regular schedule really will help with keeping up our morale,” Shiro said, putting a firm hand on Pidge and Hunk’s shoulders. Pidge knocked it off with a disdainful snort and stalked off into the forest. 

“Don’t follow me,” she snapped over her shoulder. “Or I will give Coran as much cheap-ass gas station espresso as-” she pulled a handful of crumpled dollar bills out of her pocket. “$15 can buy.” Shiro started forward, but Hunk grabbed his arm. 

“I think she’s serious,” he said, and then he headed back to where Coran had finished splitting wood and was building up the structure for a fire. “I’m going to start cooking some burritos.” 

“Well then, count me out!” Lance said, bouncing back toward the camp. “I’m going to talk with Allura.” Shiro made eye contact with Keith, who looked back at him levelly. Finally, Shiro sighed. “All right, go join them. I’ll run a quick perimeter run and check on Pidge and then I’ll be right back. We’ll take today off.” 

“Okay,” Keith said, shrugging, and started to walk slowly back towards the fire as well. When he got there, the previously angry group had settled onto stumps that someone, probably Coran, had dragged up around the fire. Pidge had evidently rejoined the group. Hunk was making burritos absentmindedly, staring along with everyone else at the wildly gesticulating Coran. He scoffed quietly but settled in for the end of the story. 

“So there I was, in Stockholm, at the Abba museum! ” Coran said, eyes alight. “And of course, this whole time the  foreign minister, a dour fellow, Mukherjee I think his name was, was just glaring at me. He still hadn't forgiven me for accidentally dropping the Swedish adder I’d chased down onto his lap, you see!” Keith blinked rapidly in the face of the rush of information.

“Now it really hadn’t been my fault, you see, so I hadn’t apologized for it, but I certainly regretted that then because the first exhibit in the museum was an interactive singing audition for the role as the fifth member of ABBA.” 

“You see, ABBA is this band-” Lance said to Allura in a stage whisper. 

“Altea may have been a bit isolated, but I didn’t live under a rock,” she whispered back. “I know who ABBA is.”

“I bet it’s just because Coran’s favorite song of all time is Dancing Queen,” Pidge chimed in, sitting down by the fire.

“And so there I was, on stage,” Coran continued merrily in the background, unaware that he’d lost most of his audience. 

“How do  _ you _ know that?” Allura asked. 

“Uh, A, he’s not subtle about it,” Pidge said. “And B, he played it like eight times while we were fixing the castle and said ‘this is my favorite song of all time.’ With those words and everything.” 

“Ohhhhhh,” Allura said, and Keith tuned back in to catch the end of Coran’s story. 

“So he took the video he’d filmed of me singing and dancing to Dancing Queen and posted it on the internet. Naturally, I was tad bit embarrassed, but I couldn’t say anything for fear of offending the Swedish ambassador! She was a huge ABBA fan. But what neither Mukherjee nor I saw coming was that it went viral in Shanghai. Since then I haven’t been able to visit without someone recognizing me and bursting into song. So! The moral of the story is...” he paused, looking quizzically at the group. Keith stared blankly back. He couldn’t imagine what kind of moral Coran would expect them to take away from-

“Always hold snakes firmly!” Lance shouted.

“Apologize for your mistakes before your enemies can get even!” Pidge yelled.

“Offend the minister of Sweden, not India?” Hunk asked, and Allura looked at him oddly. “Well, she seemed nicer and less likely to exact revenge.” 

“I’ll leave the moral as an exercise for my students,” Coran said, smiling sort of vaguely at them all before bouncing off with a cheerful “Looks like we need some more wood! Hopefully, I won’t run into any more Collared Peccaries. That last herd seemed awfully upset with me!” He jogged off into the woods. 

“The… what?” Keith asked Allura. 

“Also called javelinas!” Coran yelled from what a distance that had previously seemed out of earshot. He didn’t slow down or look back, but continued shouting. “They’re a medium-sized hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae! They’re common in Northern Arizona!”

“How does he-” Lance trailed off, waving one hand vaguely. 

“He studied zoology in college,” Allura said, with a fond look after her departing uncle. 

“Has anyone seen Shiro?” Keith broke in suddenly. “He said he’d be right back after he walked the perimeter.” 

“I haven’t,” Allura said, her voice dropping all trace of amusement. “Everyone, into the trailer now. Keith, help me put out the fire.” 

“Throwing water on it will just make more smoke,” Keith protested, but she had fallen to both knees, scooping dirt into a makeshift pouch she’d made by pulling up her shirt hem. “Oh. I see.” He scooped up dirt as well, then joined Allura in dumping it on the fire. After a few moments, the fire was out and they joined the other three in the trailer. 

“Now what?” Pidge asked, but no one answered. 

 

~ ~ ~ 

 

Shiro had taken a longer route than he’d intended, but he was almost back at the camp when he saw something scaly run across his boot. Smiling at the daring lizard, he crouched down to get a closer look. Which is when he heard the rustle from behind him, followed by the click of a gun being cocked. 

“Stay right there,” a cold voice commanded, and Shiro froze. “Enjoying the family road trip?”  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shiro said, fighting to keep his voice level. “It’s just me out here.” 

“A valiant attempt, Takashi Shirogane. You’re as good as my agents have reported. But it’s of no use denying your company,” the voice continued. There was a louder rustle from behind him, and then a bound and gagged Coran crashed to the ground in front of him. He landed face-first, startling the poor lizard so badly that it dropped its tail off and bolted into the bushes. Coran thrashed his way back to his feet, spinning around to face their unseen attacker. His face was flushed and a bruise was forming along one cheekbone. Shiro silently tried to warn him to be still, mouthing ‘no’ at him and giving a slight shake of his head. Coran glanced at Shiro and settled slightly. He shifted his weight backward and simply stared down the unseen figure. 

“Now I figured I’d just take Coran here to lure the princess in,” the voice continued, after a beat. “But I suspect she’d be just as willing, maybe more, to run in after you.” Coran seemed unfazed by the insinuation, continuing his staring match. Shiro wondered if the spies had heard the teenagers in the last gas station bathroom they’d stopped at when they’d inexplicably started calling him Space Dad. “But now, I have a messenger. A messenger is no good to me if he can’t speak, though. Shirogane, ungag him.” Coran started forwards and the figure made a “tut-tut” sound. “Now remember, Coran, if you scream or try otherwise to warn the princess that I’ve got you, I’ll just shoot Shiro and keep you as my hostage.” Coran started forwards more slowly, and Shiro slowly reached forward and untied the rough cloth. 

“Lotor,” Coran snapped, as soon as the cloth was gone. “I should have guessed.”

“So harsh!” Lotor said, fake sincerity dripping from his voice. “I’m hurt. Don’t you remember the good old days, when Allura and I were just two kids in love?”

“That’s Princess to you,” Coran said, his tone ringing with a mimicry of his usual cheerful cadence. “Don’t forget, you’re not technically royalty.” Lotor, whoever he was, took two quicks steps forward into Shiro’s peripheral vision, and Coran fell back a step, looking a bit overly frightened. Shiro got the idea and shifted slightly backward and sideways, as if adjusting his balance. Now he had a clear view of their attacker looming over Coran, as the older man had intended. 

“You only survived the war, old man, because you and your Princess-” Lotor said Allura’s title as if it was profanity.  “-ran away. She’s not the princess of anything now! And your king is dead.” Coran’s legs buckled under him, and he fell to the ground. Lotor leaned over him, moving to yank him to his feet, and Shiro moved. He knocked the gun easily from the distracted man’s hands, yanking the man’s arm up and behind his back. Coran rolled out of the way and Shiro shoved Lotor face-first into a nearby tree trunk.

“Grab the ropes, Coran!” he yelled, and Coran appeared at his shoulder, ropes already in hand. Shiro took only a second to wonder how Coran had gotten out of his own bonds so easily. 

“Hold him there,” he said, handing Shiro one end of the rope and scurrying around the tree with the loose end. “This is just like the time that I was out looking for berries with Alfor and I got caught between the mother grizzly and her cubs,” He darted around the tree again, tightening the rope around the thrashing teenager.

“In this case, am I the mother or the cubs?” Shiro asked, amused despite the situation. 

“Neither, actually. I played dead and when the mother went to loom over me and posture Alfor made quite a racket in the neighboring bushes until she collected her cubs and left.” 

“So I’m Alfor,” Shiro said. “I’m honored.” 

“Sorry, Coran,” a voice said from above them. A muscular, tan-skinned woman with a gun dropped out of the tree, aiming levelly at Coran’s head. “Mother bear’s not leaving this time,” 

“Nice work, Acxa!” a cheerful voice cried from behind them, and a beaming girl with a long ponytail bounced into the clearing. She had a semi-automatic rifle held loosely in one hand, and she smiled at Shiro. “Zethrid and Narti have the area secure!” 

“What did I tell you about using our real names, Ezor?” The woman said in exasperation. 

“Well, see, you just used my name so who’s the real problem here?” the younger woman pouted, balancing her rifle on one knee and tightening her ponytail. 

“You don’t want the answer to that question,” Acxa said, moving smoothly and slowly away from the tree while keeping her gun trained levelly on Coran. “You, policeman, put your hands over your head. Slowly.” Shiro did as he was told. “Coran. Untie Lotor.” Coran didn’t move. 

“You’re better than this, Acxa!” he said, clearly restraining his own gestures so as not to startle the woman pointing a gun at his face. “I’ve known you since you were a little girl. I remember you stopping Lotor from bullying local children, because it wasn’t a fair fight. I remember you chasing Monarch butterflies in the fields behind the castle.” He leaned towards her. “You were always a kind girl. You would have done well in Altea.” 

“And now Altea is gone,” Acxa responded. “I may have been kind, but I’m not dumb. I plan to be on the winning side. Untie him, now. This is your last warning.” 

“Or what?” Coran asked. Not taunting, just sad. 

“Or I have Ezor start ‘bandaging’ that gash on your back you’ve just reopened,” she said, and Coran shook his head. 

“Go ahead.” he said, holding her gaze. 

“Coran…” Shiro said, eying the girl with the rifle. She seemed to be getting impatient, picking at her nails with one hand and shifting the gun in the other. 

“And after that, I’ll have her find some salt and lemon for your friend’s bullet wound,” Acxa said, and Coran dropped his gaze. He started forward slowly, untying the knot he’d whipped into place with two simple tugs. The ropes fell away, and Lotor stalked around the tree. He knocked Coran to the ground with a single punch, and nodded to Acxa. 

“Take him and drop him off somewhere near their camp. Somewhere he’ll be able to find his way back with a concussion,” he said coldly, rolling the unconscious man over in the leaves with one boot to glare down at him. “He’s their problem now. Grab the policeman and let’s move.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


	6. Across The Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlsbad Caverns!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end for trigger warnings for all fics

There was a rapping at the door. A tap, four taps, two more. A familiar rhythm. Allura relaxed slightly, lowering the taser Pidge had offered her. She nodded slightly at Lance who cracked open a blind.

“It’s Coran. He’s alone.” Lance hesitated. “He doesn’t look so hot.” Allura swung the door open halfway, and Coran ducked in hastily before she slammed it shut again. 

“What happened?” she demanded, but Coran only swayed slightly and mumbled something unintelligible. The group half-carried him to a couch, settling him down gently. Blood stained the back of his jumpsuit, outlining the cut he’d sustained weeks prior in their last clash with the Galra. But the rapidly purpling black eye and split lip were new. 

“Poor Coran,” Pidge said, running her hand lightly along the edge of Coran’s bruises. “People are always knocking you out, huh?” 

“It’s Lotor,” he said, faintly. “He has Shiro. We’re to surrender the Princess and myself immediately.”

“What? We have to go get him!” Keith said, jumping to his feet. 

“Of course,” Allura said. “But we need a plan of attack.” 

“What are you talking about? We have to go get him!” 

“And we will!” Coran said, putting a surprisingly firm hand on his shoulder. His voice was regaining strength. “But we can’t right now. They’d just grab all of us!” Keith snarled and tried to yank his shoulder away, but Coran just swayed with the movement and tightened his grip. 

“I know you’re upset, Keith, and rightfully so. But Coran is right. We have to regroup, hit them somewhere they’re not expecting,” Allura said. 

“It’s an ambush!” Coran emphasized, squeezing Keith’s shoulder urgently. “Do you understand? You cannot just walk in there!” 

“Okay, okay! Shit. Fine. What’s the plan then?” Keith said, biting back the flood of anger and nausea at the thought of Shiro hurt and scared somewhere. 

“We go get the lions,” Coran said, making eye contact with Allura. 

“Okay, Coran? This is not the time for a joke.” Pidge chided nervously. 

“I’m not joking. The lions are our only chance of taking down the Galra and getting Shiro back. We’ll have to get all five to have a chance.” Coran continued, nodding to himself. The teens all glanced at each other. 

“Uhhhh, Coran?” Hunk asked, after a moment. “How hard did they hit you in the head?”

“Oh, quite hard!” Coran said cheerfully. He stood up, making his way towards the front seat of the RV. 

“I think maybe you’re confused…” Pidge added. 

“Nope! I know exactly where the first lion is.” 

“Okay, but after your repeated head traumas I’m driving for a while,” Allura said, climbing into the driver’s seat. Coran shrugged amiably, clambering into the seat next to her. 

“What is he talking about, Allura?” Hunk interjected. “What lions?” 

“They’re mech suits. We designed them to help our soldiers fight against the Galra and their bioweapon technology.” 

“The original pitch for them was ‘We’ll be ready, whether the Galra like it or not’,” Coran said from the passenger seat where he was digging through the glove box. “Like It Or Not. L, I, O, N. Lions. My grandfather designed them.” He looked distant for a moment. “He did rather hate that nickname.” He pulled out a booklet and crowed triumphantly. “Aha! I knew there was an atlas in here somewhere.” 

“The name lions kinda stuck,” Allura said apologetically. “But I thought they were all lost?” she said, glancing at Coran. 

“Lost? No, no. We knew exactly where they were. But since four of them were hidden away in the US to prevent their misuse by the Galra, they were of no use in the battle for Altea.” 

“Why would you hide a weapon somewhere you couldn't get to it?” Lance asked, tilting his head quizzically. 

“Together, the mech suits form something even more powerful. Something that the Galra Emperor, Zarkon, took a dangerous liking to,” Coran said, then broke off abruptly. “Allura, take the on-ramp for I-10 East, here.” Allura nodded and changed lanes abruptly, sending the teenagers in the back sliding into the wall. 

“Put on your seatbelts then!” She called back over their grumbling. “Coran, you were saying?” 

“King Alfor was afraid that his desire for the lions would prompt Zarkon to invade Altea, so he had me smuggling them out of the country and hiding them in the U.S. before he leaked the knowledge that the lions had left the country to the Galra spies.”

“Well, obviously that didn’t work.” Keith snapped, and glared at Hunk when he made a horrified noise. 

“No,” Allura agreed sadly. “Zarkon invaded anyways. Which is why we may as well use these lions to assist us in getting Shiro back.” 

“We’re about six hours away from Carlsbad,” Coran added. “You may as well try to get some rest.”

“I’m not going to rest when Shiro is with those, those… monsters!” Keith spluttered. “And you’re crazy if you think otherwise!” 

“We’re all worried about Shiro,” Hunk said quietly, resting a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “But we’re not going to be able to help him if we don’t rest.” There was a long, tense pause before Keith nodded slowly. 

“All right. You’re right, Hunk. I’ll try.” Pidge let her breath out quietly, and the four in the back all settled down into an uncomfortable silence. Keith watched the lights blur past on the highway outside, shining bright in the darkness. Shiro was out there. Shiro, who’d found him angry and restless in the orphanage when he was just a child, who’d forgiven him for stealing his car, who’d brought him home to Adam and warm kitchens and meat pies for dinner when he got good grades and understanding when he didn’t. Shiro, who’d taken the angry story Keith was telling and rewritten it to have a happy ending, and happy middle, but never tried to rewrite the sad beginning. He was out there and Keith was alone. He was broken out of his thoughts by a choked noise of grief from the front seats. 

“Coran,” Allura said quietly, her voice quavering. “We have to get him back.” 

“I know,” Coran said, his voice level but matching hers in volume. “We will.” The rest of the RV was still quiet. Hunk snored softly from the corner, where he was curled protectively around Pidge. Lance was sprawled out on the couch, eyes closed. 

“No, we  _ have _ to. No matter what the cost is.” Allura’s voice firmed a little. “I will not let Zarkon kill another innocent man. I will not let anyone else lose a father to that monster. No matter what it takes.” 

“Princess.” Coran said, and then stopped. He took a deep breath before starting again. “What are you asking of me?” 

“I know you want to protect me, Coran. You always have. But you can’t let that stop us from succeeding in this.” Allura said, quieting further. 

“Princess…” Coran trailed off. 

“Promise me this.” Allura said, and Keith saw her silhouette glance away from the road. 

“I promised your father I would protect you,” Coran responded after a moment, his voice thick. “When he told me to leave with you, I-” 

“You would have stayed with him. I know. “Allura said, and then sighed. “My family asked a lot of you, Coran. We always have.” 

“And it is my honor to serve,” Coran answered, without hesitation. “I loved your father. I love you. I will fight for you, and we will get Shiro back. But you cannot ask this of me.” Keith couldn’t help but notice that Coran’s English grew more formal, more old-fashioned, as he got more emotional.

“I won’t push you further on this, not now. But my request stands.” Allura said, and turned back to the road. A sign flickered by, lit briefly in the dark. 

“Here, get off onto NM-7,” Coran said. “We’re only a few minutes out.” Keith frowned. He’d been lost in thought about Shiro for longer than he’d known, or he’d fallen asleep somewhere in there. 

“Keith, whenever you’re ready could you start waking up the other paladins?” Coran called back in a conversational tone, and Keith blushed. 

“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” he said hastily, then blushed further. He could almost hear Adam snickering, adding ‘way to be subtle’. 

“Of course not.” Coran said, twisting in his chair to smile at Keith. “It’s a small RV.” 

“Yeah,” Keith mumbled. “I’ll start waking people up.” He crawled across to Lance, shaking his shoulder gently until his eyes fluttered open. This was an inappropriate time to notice that the Cuban teen had long, gorgeous eyelashes, he told himself firmly.

“Lance,” he said, quietly. “Wake up. We’re almost there,” 

“Eh?” Lance said, sitting up slowly. “ ¿Qué esta pasando?”

“Huh?” Keith said intelligently.

“Wazzup?” Lance followed up. Then, blinking a lot, “Oh! Sorry, Keith, I was dreaming I was at home.”  

“Oh. No worries. Um, we’re almost there.” Keith said, trying for nonchalant.  “Gotta get shoes on and stuff.” 

“Yes, and pack a bag!” Coran called from the front. “We’re going spelunking!” 

“We’re wha?” Hunk said, stirring. Pidge sat up, rubbed her eyes, and leaned back into Hunk’s side with a yawn. 

“Spelunking! Exploring a cave system! It’s where the first lion is hidden.” Another sign flashed past outside, slower this time. It read “Carlsbad Caverns,” 

“Oh no.” Hunk said. “Nuh-uh. I am not crawling through some tiny tunnel in the rocks, in the dark. Nope.”

“Well, you are welcome to wait in the car,” Allura said, guiding the RV up around a long winding road. “Sunrise should be in a couple of hours, so we won’t be gone longer than that. We’ll have to get the first lion back under cover of dark, or this trip won’t be of any use to us at all.” 

“The caves are actually quite spacious along our route!” Coran said, sounding way more excited than anyone should given the hour. He looked up from where he’d been rummaging in one of several duffel bags he’d pulled from a chest in the back of the RV. He had a headlamp strapped to his head, managing to avoid the worst of the bruises. He held out a handful of other headlamps, and the group resignedly each took one. 

“Fine, but if a bat gets stuck in my hair I’m out.” Hunk said, slipping his headlamp on warily. 

“Actually, that’s a common misconception,” Coran started, slipping something Keith couldn’t see into his pocket and handing Allura a headlamp. “Bats avoid humans using echolocation. It’s true that they swoop near the heads of humans sometimes, but they’re just retrieving the tasty insects hovering around us.”

“Is that better?” Hunk asked Pidge who shrugged and continued munching on a granola bar. The group piled out of the RV and into a windswept parking lot. A few cars here and there sat quiet and dark. 

“Why are there other people at the national park at two in the morning?” Pidge muttered blearily. 

“They come to watch the bat flight!” Coran explained, clicking his headlamp on and leading the way along a gravel path. “They all fly out together, a dizzying tornado of bats up into the night sky. When they’re done searching for food that evening, they dive back into the caves.” They passed someone on the trail who nodded respectfully to Coran. 

“They think he’s a ranger,” Lance said in a low voice to Keith and Allura, and Keith smiled despite himself. 

“He’d look good in the hat,” Allura remarked, and Lance giggled. 

“Each bat can reach speeds of up to 40 km/hr when they’re diving back in,” Coran continued, leading them through an empty amphitheater. “That’s 25 mph, for you Americans.” The path ahead of them sloped down into pitch blackness, making the soft dark of the desert seem manageable by comparison. Coran stopped abruptly and spun to face them. Pidge, off balance and still partially asleep, crashed into him. He wrapped an arm around her to keep her on her feet, and studied the group seriously. 

“Coran?” Allura said, nervously.

“Has anyone been into any other cave in the last ten years?” Coran asked, tugging at his mustache and staring down the group. “Wearing the same shoes or anything else?” 

“Uh.. no?” Lance said, and the rest of the group agreed, except Allura. 

“Coran, you took me to that place in Colorado a few years ago. Cave of the Winds?” 

“That one is alright,” Coran reassured her. “Okay, good. Let’s proceed.” He led them down the steep paved path into the main entrance of the cave. 

“What was that about?” Lance asked Allura, who shrugged. 

“There’s a deadly fungus spreading around cave systems these days,” Coran said over his shoulder. The headlamps dancing off of the cave walls lent intimidating shadows to his face. “It kills the Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats that call this place their home. We shouldn’t risk spreading it.” 

“He  _ is _ a ranger,” Lance muttered, but Coran didn’t seem to hear him. They followed the path down into the cave for a way before Coran looked around nervously, sighed, and led them off of the trail and through a smooth plain of glossy rock. 

“Don’t touch anything,” Pidge warned, sounding slightly more awake now. “The acids naturally secreted by human skin can destroy this kind of park.” 

“You were a junior ranger, weren’t you?” Lance asked, and Pidge nodded proudly. “Nerd.” 

“Quiet,” Coran called back. “We don’t want anyone to know we’re out here. Leaving the path is strictly prohibited.” They walked along in silence for almost fifteen more minutes, the shadows they made dancing in creepy arrangements of stone. The quiet sound of water dripping echoed out of the darkness in several places. Finally, they came to a simple limestone cave. Coran ducked inside, and reluctantly the group followed. Inside, a white sheet lay over something just taller than Shiro. Coran yanked it off, sneezing violently at the sudden release of dust. Underneath, a shining four-legged metal figure gleamed. It was painted a glossy blue, the head painted like that of a snarling lion. It was just larger than a large motorcycle.

“Ah. They also look like lions.” Lance said into the awed quiet that followed. “That’s probably why the nickname stuck.” 

“They don't look like lions,” Coran protested. “They’re quadrupedal robotic exoskeletons. It’s simply a more stable arrangement!” 

“They have a tail,” Keith said flatly, and Coran sighed. 

“Yes, well, The king insisted on that.”

“Get in there and start it up,” Keith said. “We don’t have long before sunrise.” 

“I can’t,” Coran said, simply. “Someone who has a connection with this lion will have to.” 

“A connection? What does that mean?” Pidge asked, pushing her way to the front of the group. She reached out to touch the lion and a spark jumped across to her hand. “Ow! It shocked me!” 

“I guess you’re not connected,” Lance said smugly. “But she’ll connect with me, won’t you beautiful?” He rested a hand on the lion’s flank but pulled it away as if he’d been burned. “Ow! It’s hot!” 

“How does this work?” Hunk asked, and Coran sighed. 

“It’s a long story. Suffice it to say that the weapons were originally designed with defensive measures that will reject anyone without the proper alpha and beta brain wave pattern. Each lion is adjusted for a specific personality.” 

“...Why?” Pidge said. 

“Excellent question. Actually, we- Allura?” Coran said, staring over Pidge’s shoulder. The group turned as one to see Allura clambering into the cockpit of the blue lion. There was a whir, and then the eyes clicked open, sending beams of light splashing against the cave walls. 

“I guess I connected,” Allura said, sounding amused. “How are we getting this out of here, Coran?” 

“First, turn off those lights. Then follow me,” Coran said. The lights flickered off, and the group trailed after Coran as he picked his way back across the cave floor.  Then he turned, away from the path they’d taken before.

“There is another, subtler way out,” he explained in a whisper. “But you can only take it with a lion or similar device.” He led them to a large, flat expanse of stone lit by moonlight streaming from a distant hole in the rock above. “Okay, everyone grab onto the lion and hold tightly.” Everyone clambered on, Pidge and Lance hesitating to make contact with the lion again. Hands white-knuckled, everyone groaned uncomfortably as the door slid shut behind Allura.

“Fly us out, Allura.” Coran said calmly. 

“What?” everyone else yelped, but Allura just took a deep breath, her voice amplified somehow as if through a speaker system. 

“Okay,” she said, and yanked hard on the controls. The force threw everyone into each other, and then a rapid spiraling made Keith sick to his stomach. Hunk gagged as they swept through the hole in the rock, and everyone quickly slid as far away from him as they could while still holding onto the lion. Allura yelped and slammed the lion to one side, narrowly missing a large cactus, then skidded to a landing just outside the RV. Hunk fell to the ground and stumbled away as soon as the lion hit the ground. Pidge went after him with a bottle of water, and Coran went to make space for the lion in the RV. Lance turned to look at Keith. 

“That… was… awesome!” he said, breathless. “Also, Allura, you’re a terrible pilot.” 

“What?” she protested. “I just got behind the controls for the first time today! You think you could have done better?” 

“They did look kind of intuitive,” Keith found himself saying, and the princess yanked on a joystick, sending the two of them tumbling to the ground. They landed, laughing, on the dusty parking lot and for a second Keith forgot about all of his fear and worries, gazing up at the desert sky. Lance also lay still, looking up at the stars. 

“I have to go,” Keith said finally, and staggered to his feet. He climbed into the RV, around the lion Coran was trying to help Allura maneuver into the main living space and settled into the front seat.

“We’re coming, Shiro,” he whispered to the darkness of the road ahead. 

~ ~ ~ 

Lance lay still, missing the warmth of Keith beside him. The stars above were cold and distant, and a wind blowing across the peak made him shiver. There was a slam and a triumphant noise from behind him, and he heard Allura rounding up Hunk and Pidge and getting everyone to clamber into the RV around the lion. There was the sound of footsteps approaching, but he didn’t turn to look. There was a pause, then Coran dropped to lay beside him with a quiet “umph” noise. 

“How far away is home, Coran?” he asked.

“Roughly, oh, let’s see. Six hours back to Tucson, then another several hours to where we met Shiro, then-”

“Ever notice how far apart everything is?” Lance asked. Coran laughed gently. 

“Yes, that’s what I was just saying.” 

“Like, the stars are so far apart. Crazy far apart. So far apart that they probably don’t even remember what their mom’s cooking for lunch today or when their sister’s new girlfriend is coming over for family dinner or how to make Ropa Vieja.” 

“Ah.” Coran sighed softly. “It’s alright to be homesick, Lance.” 

“I just… I understand why we have to stay away. I don’t want anything bad to happen to my family. But I miss them, you know? And I’m worried about them.” 

“If I could go home, I would,” Coran said, his voice wavering only slightly. “I understand, my boy.” He wrapped an arm around Lance’s shoulders, pulling him to his side for an awkward one-armed hug. “We’ll get you home safe. But first, we have to go find Shiro, and make sure the Galra don’t threaten anyone else’s family.” 

“Okay,” Lance said, trying hard to be too dignified to snuggle into Coran’s hug. He sniffed. “That’s okay. Thanks, Coran.” 

“Anytime,” Coran said. “Now, we best be joining the others in the RV before they decide to leave without us.” Lance laughed softly. He stood up quickly,  realizing only once he’d turned towards the RV that Coran wasn’t beside him. He turned to see Coran struggling to his feet. He rushed back and helped him up. 

“That cut still bothering you?” he asked, but Coran pulled his arm free and shook his head. 

“Thanks for the help, Lance, but everything is fine,” he insisted. “Don’t worry. Let’s just focus on getting to the next lion.” Lance opened the driver’s side door for him anyway.

“And where is the next lion?” Allura asked from her seat inside the lion as Lance climbed into the back of the Castle. 

“The Redwoods,” Coran said, pulling out onto the winding mountain road that led back to the highway. “Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park, to be specific.” 

“What?” Keith protested. “That’s days away! With a lot of it back in the direction we just came from!” 

“We have to have all the lions,” Coran said, resolutely. He turned onto the highway and clicked on the radio. “Allura and I will take shifts driving. We have a long way to go, so I suggest you all get settled in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture.


	7. Stayin' Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> National Parks! Redwoods! Coran is a road trip dad! This is a shorter chapter but we have a long one coming next weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end of chapter for trigger warnings for whole fic!

Pidge was dozing when the RV skidded suddenly to one side. Her eyes shot open, just in time to see a flustered Coran reach over and slide Allura’s seat backward. He jumped into her lap, slamming on the brakes and pulling the RV over to the side of the road. Everyone else jerked awake at the sudden stop, including Allura. 

“What’s going on?” Lance called out grumpily from a pile of blankets. 

“I think Allura fell asleep at the wheel,” Pidge answered. “Coran pulled us over.” 

“Uhhh…” Allura groaned softly. “Sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault,” Keith chimed in. “We’ve been going for almost a full 24 hours just trading off you two. You were bound to get tired eventually.” Pidge raised an eyebrow. So Keith was capable of empathy - when he wasn’t angry. 

“I’ll pull off in the next town,” Coran said groggily. “We’re too conspicuous by the side of the road like this.” He stood up to let Allura crawl out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger seat, where she curled up into a ball and immediately started snoring. As Coran pulled them back onto the road, Hunk hummed thoughtfully from beside Pidge. 

“Could someone else learn the control system?” he asked her, after a moment. 

“No, doubtful. Or at least it would take a long time. The controls are all labeled in Altean, and they’re really counter-intuitive,” she responded. “But I think the others were right. I was taking a look inside the cockpit of the lion, and that interface is relatively easy to master. I think we can get those up and running pretty quickly.” Coran pulled off at the next exit, taking a quiet woodsy road for a few minutes and then pulling off on a shoulder. He parked, set the parking brake, checked the locks, and also immediately fell asleep sitting up, leaving the others to sit there quietly and try not to wake the two Alteans.

“So, um, this is lion two. Does anyone remember how many there were?” Lance whispered. 

“Five,” Pidge whispered back. He made a face. 

“We are running out of time,” Keith chimed in. “Shiro is running out of time. We should just take these two and go get him.” 

“Coran said we had to get all five to have a chance,” Hunk reminded him. 

“Coran also said that you magically connect to the lions with your brain,” Keith whispered back fiercely. “Not sure he’s the most reliable information source,” 

“That’s not fair. He’s saved our lives before,” Pidge said, her own whisper growing sharp. She glanced quickly up at the front seat, but Allura and Coran still seemed out of it.

“He also let Shiro get taken right in front of him,” Keith hissed, and then swiped at his eyes.

“Keith-” Hunk started, reaching out, but Keith jerked away. 

“No,” he said.”I’m sorry. I just- I just need him back.” 

“We know,” Pidge said. Her whisper was still sharp, but the edge was fading. She knew the emotions driving him toward his worst self, as well as she’d known the fear in Allura’s eyes when she’d seen the door left open at her uncle’s home. “I know.” Hunk patted her shoulder gently. The RV faded into silence, and Pidge found herself dozing again. She woke up when the RV bumped over something, and rather groggily discovered they were driving again. Coran was in the driver’s seat, sitting up straight. They pulled to a stop, and he started speaking cheerily to someone out the window. 

“Yes, just a one-time pass please,” he said and paused. Pidge shifted forward so she can watch the interaction. An older woman’s voice drifted into the RV, distant enough that Pidge couldn’t understand the words. Coran nodded, responding “I know the road’s going to be a bit rough, but this ol’ girl can take it.” He thumped the side of the Castle with one hand. Then he laughed, bright and real. “Yeah, we have been on the road for a while. In fact-” he leans forward and smiles conspiratorially at the ranger. ”The kids are all sleeping. Don’t worry, though, I’ll wake them up in just a-” Pidge is suddenly worried that Coran will say dobosh, one of his few holdovers from Altean. Coran’s voice falters for a second, but he beams through it. “Just a sec!” The woman says something else and he laughs again. “Yeah, the quiet is awfully nice. Have a good day, ma’am!” And the RV is rolling again. As they head further along the road, Coran’s posture slumps slightly and he struggles to maintain his usual form, succeeding after a few long seconds. Pidge glances around, but everyone else is still asleep. Then she is utterly distracted as Coran pulls off onto something marked Howland Hill Road and the road suddenly becomes extremely bumpy. Pidge hardly notices, staring avidly out of the window at the towering trees beyond. 

“I wish we were here for real,” Coran says quietly. “We could stop and play in the river, camp under the trees. You’d like the visitor's center, Pidge,” Pidge sat bolt upright, blushing. 

“I wasn’t - I didn’t mean- I wasn’t eavesdropping!” she spluttered, but Coran hummed reassuringly. 

“It’s all right, Pidge. It’s a small space.” He smiled, as if at a private joke. Pidge suspected she wasn’t the first person that he’d caught definitely not eavesdropping. There’s an extremely brief pause, all the time required for Pidge’s curiosity to get the better of her.

“Why would I like the visitor’s center?”

“Oh, they talk about the structural integrity of the redwoods. How they’re constructed on the inside to be able to grow so tall.” 

“Yeah?” Pidge asked, fighting back the wistfulness she suspected was creeping into her tone. “That is one hell of a feat of engineering.” 

“I’ve always thought so,” Coran said, smiling back over his shoulder. Then they hit a particularly large rut, and the others came crashing awake - quite literally, in a few cases. 

“Quiznak!” Hunk yelped, trying to extricate himself from under a squirming Lance. “Could you get off, please?” 

“Sorry! Sorry,” Lance said, clambering to the relative safety of a bench. “What happened?” 

“Just a bit of a bump!” Coran called back cheerily. “Nothing to worry about. And we’re here!” He pulled off of the main road slightly, trying to clear it despite the lack of other cars on the road at 7 am on a random weekday. Then he clambered down, carefully locking all the doors as the others got out and stretched. Pidge hadn’t known, at first, how Allura had been so sure that the Lion Garage had been broken into. Now, after spending more time around Coran, she was convinced he triple checked everything he ever locked. A useful holdover from being terrified of government assassins for years, she concluded internally, and spared a second to wonder if Allura did it too before she went back to admiring the trees. 

“This way, everyone!” Coran called, and Lance started humming the Magic School Bus theme under his breath. Coran led them deep into the wilderness, and Pidge gradually stopped paying as much attention to the trees, still beautiful, or the other teenagers, still running around like recently uncaged puppies. Instead, she walked closer and closer behind Coran, a feeling she couldn’t quite explain urging her forward. Then Coran hesitated at a fork in the road and she didn’t and suddenly she was leading the way forward, as familiar as if she’d been running the path in the woods behind her house with Matt. Coran made an approving noise and fell into step behind her, and Allura patted her on the shoulder. She made one final turn and there, in a clearing, a green version of the lion they already had in the RV. It was… powered off? Sleeping? But Pidge felt it awake when she got close, and it lifted its head to stare at her with achingly yellow eyes. She had just stepped forward when Coran grabbed her arm fiercely as Allura shouted into the clearing. 

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE!” Allura yelled at the top of her voice, “THERE ARE THREE OF US AND WE KNOW YOU’RE HERE!” Pidge felt adrenaline roll into her bloodstream, her mind clicking into tactical mode. She could see them now that her focus on the lion had been broken, two women slinking out of the shadows across the clearing. Allura’s yell had warned the others, as it had been intended, and there was only silence from behind them. Coran stepped backward slowly, pulling Pidge with him. 

“You can’t leave Allura alone out there,” Pidge protested quietly. Coran looked down at her with an utterly unexpected smile. 

“Oh, can’t I?” he said, and in Pidge’s peripheral vision she saw a blur of motion. Spinning to look, she saw Allura close the gap between her and the two women in an instant, dropping her center of gravity and swinging a kick at the back of the closest attackers knees. The first woman, large and muscular, crumpled. Allura knelt, hands up defensively, her knee across the throat of the larger woman. The smaller woman backed up, shocked, and the larger woman slumped into unconsciousness under the relentless press on her windpipe. 

“ Zethrid!” the younger woman called, and then bared her teeth at Allura. “You’ll pay for that!” She lunged suddenly, tackling Allura. However, Allura did  _ something _ involving a smooth motion of at least one limb and the attacker went flying. She landed on her feet, eyes wild and ponytail fraying, before sprinting back towards Allura. But Allura landed a solid punch as she approached, and the younger woman fell to the ground. Hunk, Lance and Keith rushed out of the shadows, scanned the clearing, and then quickly grabbed the two women. Allura stood up calmly, brushing forest dirt off of her hands.

“What the f- uh, quiznak, was that?” Keith said, staring openly at Allura as he twisted the arms of the weakly stirring girl behind her back. 

“Well, the world of royalty is dangerous,” Allura said. “And I knew I wouldn’t always have my royal advisor and his shield to hide behind,” At this Pidge looked questioningly at Coran, who tapped one of the cuffs he wore on his wrists and waggled his eyebrows.  “I had to learn to fight early. And it was better than ice skating, the ridiculous sport my father insisted I study.” 

“She was amazing on the ice,” Coran interjected, looking nostalgic. “Like magic.” 

“Yes, well, I prefer the magic of a closed fist,” Allura reprimanded him. “And padded floors. As you well know.” She turned to Pidge and smiled. “He was my teacher,” The group looked, as a whole, shocked. 

“Oh, she quickly surpassed her  _ first _ teacher,” Coran said, smiling back at her. “She had many others, from many different types of martial arts. But we should focus. We have a lion to retrieve, and a decision to make.” 

“Decision?” Hunk asked warily from where he was leaning over the larger unconscious woman. 

“Yes! If we let these spies go, they’ll report our intentions and location. But if we attempt to take them prisoner and bring them with us, they’ll doubtless attempt to sabotage us along the way.” Coran frowned at the two women.

“I have an idea,” Pidge said, “Coran, do you still have that shirt you were wearing when Shiro was taken?” 

“Er, yes. Why?” The smile that spread across Pidge’s face was doubtless the one Hunk called her ‘mad scientist grin’. She found she didn’t mind the title much at that moment. 

~ ~ ~ 

“Hello again, ma’am!” the mustachioed man called cheerfully to the ranger. He was leaning heavily on the arm of the dark-skinned teenage girl that had been asleep in the passenger seat when he’d entered the park. She eyed him a bit warily, but approached nonetheless. The scene by the road was… troubling, to say the least. She hadn’t seen anything like it in the ten years she’d worked at the national park. Two bickering teenage boys held the arms of a slightly older teenage girl with a feral but confused expression and a ponytail. A larger boy quietly held the arm of a dazed-looking older woman. A younger child looked out the RV windows with wide eyes. 

“What exactly is going on here?” she asked, feeling one hand unconsciously lock onto the pepper spray on her belt. 

“As I mentioned on the phone, we saw these two troublemakers walking up to this tree with that-” he sniffed in disdain and pointed at the chainsaw lying on the ground. “We simply couldn’t let them harm these beautiful trees, so I jumped out to stop them and they attacked me!” He turned stiffly around and she saw the bloodied slice in his shirt, revealing a red angry gash underneath. “The kids jumped out and stopped them, which was  _ very dangerous _ ,” he said the last part towards the three teenage boys and the teenager supporting him, all of whom either shrugged or rolled their eyes. The ranger took a deep breath and faced the women again, this time with more fire in her eyes. 

“All right, I’ll have the local police out here in just a few minutes,” she said sharply. “Don’t you worry. Do you require medical attention, sir?” 

“No, I think it’s mostly cosmetic damage. Seems pretty shallow. But I was going to drive up to the nearest hospital, so I wrote out a statement for the police,” he handed her a sealed envelope. “If that’s all right?” His mustache wilted slightly, and she winced. 

“Of course, I won’t keep you from medical attention. But you may be required to come back for the trial.”

“Of course,” the man said. “Whatever the police need.” The door to the RV opened and a small child of androgynous appearance stuck her head out.

“Damaging a redwood is punishable by a fine and up to a year in jail!” she snapped at the women. “But for assault with a deadly weapon, you can get up to four more years! Enjoy that!” The ranger turned to the man, who shrugged and then winced with the movement. 

“She’s a Junior Ranger,” he said by way of explanation, and she nodded absently. “Are we free to go?” 

“Of course, sir. Thank you for your help maintaining the national park.” 

“Anytime,” he replied, and clambered stiffly into the passenger’s seat of the RV. Once he was settled, the teenage girl ran across and climbed into the driver’s side, and the RV pulled out. That left the ranger with two groggy prisoners, a rapidly approaching patrol car, and the strangest report that she’d ever had to file. 

~ ~ ~

The wild laughing finally settled down as they left the six-mile road through the park. 

“That was amazing, Pidge,” Allura said, still stifling giggles. 

“I’m not sure whether to be impressed or terrified,” Keith admitted. 

“I’m sure,” Lance said, high-fiving Pidge. “Awesome.” 

“Yes, well done, number five,” Coran said, and Pidge smiled at the nickname. For a minute, there wasn’t any tension in the - admittedly crowded RV. Pidge hesitated to spoil the atmosphere but asked the dreaded but necessary question. 

“So, Coran, where to next?” Pidge asked, and Coran tugged a small purple notebook out of the glovebox.

“Wait, Coran, does this mean you don’t just know everything off the top of your head?” Lance interjected from his perch on the green lion’s head.

“I mean, he kind of does,” Allura said, without turning her head from the road. “He has an eidetic memory.” Pidge gasped. 

“I thought those were a myth?” 

“Nope. But he is one of only a few verified by Altean scientists,” Allura said. 

“A what-the-what?” Lance asked, and Keith smirked at him. “Shut up, Keith.” 

“I didn’t say anything,” Keith pointed out, and Lance kicked out in his general direction. 

“Eidetic. It’s kind of like a photographic memory,” Pidge added, trying to resolve the situation before they started trying to wrestle on top of the two lions pressed into the RV. “So then why do you need the notebook?” 

“In case of early-onset memory loss,” Coran said with an easy grin. “Early, early onset, mind you! Or concussion. Lance just reminded me of it. Would you mind tucking this into the blue lion for me for safekeeping?” Pidge took the notebook, unable to stop herself from glancing down at the page it was open to. The graph paper held a few hasty diagrams and a page of small, neat notes in what must be Altean script.

“So it’s in case something happens to you,” Keith said quietly, somehow sounding a lot like Shiro. 

“Our next stop is Yellowstone National Park!” Coran said, ignoring Keith’s last comment. 

“Are we going to see buffalo?” Hunk asked unexpectedly, his eyes bright. 

“I doubt we’ll be able to avoid them entirely,” Coran said, leaning his seat chair back to get a better view of Hunk’s expression. “The current estimate is that there are roughly 5,000 in the park alone.” 

“Awesome,” Hunk breathed, and Coran relaxed. 

“You like buffalo?” he asked Hunk, who nodded enthusiastically. “Well, did you know that they can consume up to 60 lbs of plant material and grasses a day? Each?” 

“Wait, what?” Lance said, wriggling off of the lion to slide closer to Coran. 

“How far away are we from Yellowstone?” Keith interrupted. 

“Also, why are all of the lions in national parks?” Hunk added. “Has anyone else noticed this?” 

“The lions are in national parks because the Galra don’t have any agents stationed there,” Coran answered off-handedly. “They’d be of no use to the Empire. And we’re about 17 hours out.” 

“17 hours of driving?” Allura asked wearily. “I can do four, nap, do four more. Between me and Coran, we could get there in just over that. But when we get there we would be low on food, medical supplies, sleep. We’ll need to stop and refuel, get more supplies at gas stations. And we’ll need to sleep.” Coran nodded. 

“Let’s stop in eight hours,” he said. “We’ll get a full night’s sleep actually lying down and get back on the road from there,” 

“I can take the first shift,” Allura offered. 

“That’s all right, Princess. I can manage,” Coran said. “Let’s get on the road.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


	8. Omega Shield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A respite on the road. Some bonding moments. A continental breakfast bar. A meeting in the desert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end of chapter for trigger warnings for whole fic

Allura slept fitfully and sporadically, but after a surprisingly short period of time she found herself being gently shaken. Coran’s face hovered in front of her eyes when they swam open. 

“We’re here, Princess,” he said softly. 

“We’re already at Yellowstone?” Allura said blearily. She tried to force her eyes open, but they seemed gummed half-shut. “That can’t be right.” 

“No, we’re at the hotel,” Coran said, unbuckling her seatbelt and leading her out of the door. 

“You were supposed to let me take a shift!” Allura protested weakly. It sounded silly even to her own ears. Her muscles ached, and she was leaning more heavily on Coran’s arm than she would have preferred to admit. Keith trailed behind them, practically dragging Lance. Hunk had a snoring Pidge riding piggy-back. They stumbled the few steps to the motel door, and Coran opened it carefully, helping Allura in and holding the door for the others. 

“Between your fight with the Galra agents and operating a lion for the first time, I thought you had expended enough energy for a while,” Coran said. He guided her to the furthest of the two beds and helped settle her onto it. Hunk set Pidge onto the bed beside her, and the smaller woman curled instantly into a ball. Hunk patiently unrolled her, tugged her shoes off, and set them on the ground. Then he collapsed onto the other bed as she curled back up. Lance fell down practically on top of him, leaving the other half of the bed open. Keith looked around warily, put the chain across the door, and also laid on the far bed. Allura, taking her shoes off slowly and combing out her braids with her fingers, watched them all fall asleep in seconds. 

“Coran,” she muttered, hoping her tone was stern enough to convey a command. “You are not sleeping on the ground.” 

“No?” he asked with a smile. Allura rolled her eyes at him, sliding over until Pidge was tucked up against her side and part of the bed was clear. 

“Here,” she said, patting the bed firmly. Coran obligingly kicked off his shoes and laid down. Within moments, his breathing slowed and quieted. But Allura found that she couldn’t fall asleep as easily as the others lying in the silent motel room. Either her earlier sleep or her growing sense of unease was keeping her awake. She lay still, letting Coran and Pidge’s slow breaths surround her. It had been years since the last time the nightmares of dust and blood had sent her, panicked, to sleep in Coran’s room. But early on, when the televisions had showed snippets of the devastation and the executions in Altea, when mentioning her grief to anyone but Coran or her therapist led to questions she couldn’t answer, she’d spent many nights like this. Curled beside him, as he hummed- her train of thought broke off in a moment of confusion. It seemed like the very act of thinking about the Altean song had summoned it into existence. But no, Coran was humming beside her, the vibration of it subtle but noticeable through the thin mattress. He hummed the introductory chords, slow and careful. 

“Sloven-de-hoe,” Coran sang, so quietly she almost couldn’t hear, and Allura’s eyes pricked with tears. _Gone._ She gave up her feint of sleeping and rolled over, pressing her back to Coran’s side. “ Wao ni sloven-de-hoe,” _They are gone._ The faces of those from home swam in her vision. Her mother, her father. “Sisi hulia machozi kwa waanguka, na kucheka kwa wanaoishi,” _We weep tears for the fallen, and laugh for the living._ Pink banners hung over empty tables. Soldiers that never came home. “Na viongozi wetu ni wenye ujasiri na wenye jasiri,” _And our leaders are brave and courageous._

“Are they?” she whispered in English. Tears were streaming freely down her face now. She felt Coran shift beside her before he answered in a whisper just as slow and steady as his singing. 

“Your parents were courageous. But you, Princess, are a leader unlike any I have ever known. Your bravery is astounding. You have faced the destruction of all we knew, have inspired these four teenagers to become Paladins of Voltron, have held us all together when it mattered most. They would be so proud of you.  _ I _ am so proud of you.” His voice grew tight, and he cleared his throat. Allura gave in to the emotions threatening to swamp her and curled tightly into his embrace, resting her head on his chest and crying softly until she fell back into the inky blackness of sleep. 

~ ~ ~ 

When Allura woke again, the room was dark and empty. She sat up slowly, getting her bearings. Beside her, the blankts stirred and she yelped. Pidge sleepily poked her head out from underneath. Her short hair was sticking out in every direction, and she yawned twice before blinking up at Allura. 

“Uhh… where is everyone?” Pidge drawled slowly, rubbing at her eyes with closed fists as she sat up. Allura was beginning to suspect Pidge was not a morning person. 

“I think they went to get breakfast, and maybe supplies,” Allura said. “Looks like it’s just us two here for a bit.” 

“Mmmm-hmmmm,” Pidge said, tipping backwards until she was laying across Allura’s lap. “You’re comfy.” Allura looked down at the teen with amusement, but Pidge had already closed her eyes again. 

“Thank you,” she replied, with as much seriousness as she could muster. Diplomacy insisted one didn’t turn down a compliment, no matter how bizarre. Pidge nodded, snuggling further into her lap. 

“Hmmm. Are ya alright?” Pidge slurred, eyes still closed. 

“To what are you referring?” Allura asked, attempting to comb the younger paladin’s hair back into something resembling order with her fingers. 

“Lots happened. Bad people who are from your past are back. An’ everyone getting hurt. An’ Shiro getting taken. Is okay to be sad, y’know?” Pidge continued, opening one eye a slit. “Or scared.” 

“I’m all right, thank you. You don’t have to worry about me,” Allura reassured her. 

“It’s weird, though,” Pidge continued, as if she hadn’t heard her. “Because when I was in that lion, I could… sense... the blue lion? In the Castle. An’ it seemed... hmm... really sad,” 

“And now?” Allura asked, curiosity curling in her stomach. 

“Now she’s okay,” Pidge said. “Think she’s learning it’s okay to let other people help you.” 

“And you?” Allura said, settling one hand gently on Pidge’s bony shoulder. “Are you letting other people help you?” 

“Getting better at it. Because of what happened to my dad.” Pidge’s voice was stronger now, more awake. “And my brother.” Allura was quiet, not wanting to push her further than she was willing to share. “They disappeared when I was just a kid. I decided I was going to find them...” she trailed off, but Allura got the feeling there was more she wanted to say. 

“Is that why…” she hesitated, but Pidge didn’t flinch or pull away. “Is that why you majored in criminal justice?” 

“Yeah. I was always going to be an engineer, but y’know, this was more important.” Allura smiled. 

“What?” Pidge asked, and Allura looked down to see her eyes were still closed. She’d have to ask Coran if this new connection had anything to do with the lions. 

“I was just thinking of a story Coran used to tell me. When he was a kid, his dream was to sing in the Altean opera.” 

“What?!” Pidge squawked, eyes flying open. “I mean. Ahem. What? Coran wanted to sing opera? But-” she broke off, ostentatiously looking around the room before continuing. “But _I’ve_ _heard him sing_.” Allura laughed. 

“He says he sings for fun now, not for pitch,” she explained. “But yeah, he gave it up. He became the royal advisor slash, uh, bodyguard? Kind of? For my father. Because he was needed.” 

“Sometimes it sucks to be needed,” Pidge said, and Allura nodded. There was a long, comfortable pause and then the door swung open, letting blinding white light in from outside. Pidge tensed, pressing back against Allura’s stomach slightly, and the door almost immediately swung shut to a thin crack. 

“Apologies!” Coran’s flustered voice drifted in from outside. “I should have knocked!” 

“Was that Pidge?” Lance shouted, over Coran’s continuing apologies. “In Allura’s lap? C’mon, Pidge, at least leave  _ some _ ladies for the rest of us!” Allura found herself blushing furiously but Pidge just smiled sleepily up at her as she rolled off and onto the bed. 

“Come in!” Allura called, and the door opened again to admit a bouncing Lance, a smirking Keith, and Hunk carefully balancing two cups. 

“We brought you guys some coffee,” Hunk announced, setting the cups carefully on the bedside table. Pidge lunged at the table, drinking half of the cup black before she registered the sugar packets Hunk was waving in front of her face. Allura took her own cup and sipped carefully. Too hot and too bitter, but it did seem to knock some of the cobwebs off of her mental pathways. 

“How was your adventure?” she asked Coran, indicating the three boys with a wave of the hand. 

“Excellent, excellent!” Coran’s good cheer was much more prevalent than it had been lately, a comforting sign. “We raided a continental breakfast bar-” here he pulled a pastry, wrapped in wax paper, out of his pocket and handed it to Allura. When Pidge spun on him with truly terrifying speed and grasping hands, he gingerly held out a second pastry that she snatched away. “Went shopping for supplies, pumped gas, discussed future plans, and learned how to shovel out an RV.” 

“What?” Allura protested. “It’s barely October!” 

“Welcome to the Midwest,” Coran said with a shrug. “I’ve been caught in a blizzard in August in Colorado.” 

“You have not,” Keith challenged, and Coran’s response faded off into background noise as the two of them walked back out to the RV. The air drifting in from outside was certainly chilly, and Pidge made a hissing noise as she retreated back into the blankets. Allura got up, changed quickly in the bathroom, and came out to find a puffy winter coat laid out on the bed. It was pink. Coran’s doing, she suspected. Lance came beaming back into the room, his cheeks red from the cold. 

“Do you like it?” he said, gesturing at the coat. “I picked it out myself. That kind is supposed to be super warm!” Or perhaps Coran wasn’t to blame. “Here!” Lance said, sticking something over her head. “I got you a hat, too!” 

“Is it also pink?” Allura said, raising one eyebrow. Pidge stifled a snort, pulling her own forest-green heavy coat on directly over her pajamas.

“I guess you’ll have to wait and find out,” Lance told Allura, his expression mock-serious. 

“It’s white,” Pidge called, and Lance made a face at her. She stuck her tongue back out at him. 

“All right, paladins!” Coran called from the doorway. “Time to load up!” A light dusting of powdery snow coated his hair and mustache. The three teenagers took one look at him and burst into laughter. Coran looked taken aback, his mustache twitching and shedding snow, which naturally only made them laugh harder. It took them several minutes to calm down, during which time Keith and Hunk joined them in their mutual amusement. Coran strode back and forth, saying things like “Well, I never,” and “Of all the undignified-” which would cause the group to burst into a fresh peal of laughter. Finally, wiping away tears, Allura herded the rest of the group out of the hotel and into the RV. Coran and Hunk had rigged up some form of heating that not only kept the cabin warm, but seemed to prevent ice from forming on the windows. Pidge took one look at it and started asking Hunk rapid-fire questions about the Altean tech they’d used to do it. As Allura pulled them back out onto the road, she took a deep breath. They’d had the brief respite they’d sorely needed - physically and emotionally. Now they had three more lions to find, the issue of how to transport them in the already cramped RV, and Shiro to rescue. They drove steadily, traffic calm and the roads uncrowded - perhaps because of the light dusting of snow. The radio played soft music, and the conversation in the back turned to strategy of how one could most effectively use the lions in a raid on a Galra compound. Coran took his shift driving, and Allura dozed, listening to Pidge try to demonstrate how the controls of the lions worked to a nervous-looking Hunk. Eventually, they passed the now-familiar state park sign and pulled into line to enter Yellowstone. Then they sat there for a much longer bit of time than expected. 

“Oh, paladins, look!” Coran called, pointing out the front window. The heads of the other four popped up behind Allura, wide-eyed, and stared at the buffalo that had wandered into the road and blocked traffic. Hunk was beaming at them. After a long, frozen moment the majestic animals cleared the road and traffic started up again. Coran got them another one-time pass, and Lance shot him a curious look. 

“If we knew we would be going to so many national parks, why didn’t you get the multi-use pass?” he asked as they pulled into the park. 

“The multi use pass requires a photograph and a driver’s license.” Coran explained, offhand. “It’s why we never had one when Allura was growing up.” 

“They do? It is?” Allura asked, a few childhood memories suddenly making more sense. Coran drove for about half an hour, taking roads seemingly at random, when suddenly Keith sat bolt upright. 

“Oh. That’s weird.” Keith said. 

“What?” Hunk asked, around a mouthful of granola bar. 

“Can you guys not feel that? That… tugging?” Keith answered, staring distantly out of the window.  

“Oh, no, but that’s what finding my lion felt like,” Pidge said. “Whichever one this is, I bet it’s yours.” They crested a ridge, and Keith grabbed the door handle suddenly. 

“Stop here, Coran!” he called, and Coran braked hard. Keith slid the door open and vaulted out, sprinting through the scrub and towards a dark entrance in the rock face behind them. 

“Be careful, Keith!” Allura called after him, but he just waved a hand dismissively over his shoulder. 

“Yeah… careful isn’t exactly his strong suit,” Pidge said. 

“Hey, Coran?” Hunk asked from the back. “What does ‘paladins’ mean? You keep calling us that,” 

“Observant of you,” Coran noted before answering, “Paladin is the term for someone who operates a lion of Voltron.” 

“So you think we’ll all have a lion to operate?” Hunk asked, voice shy. 

“I’m certain of it, my boy,” Coran reassured him, and then there was a crash as the red lion bounded out of the cave and towards the RV. Keith was grinning fiercely at them from inside. 

“This is awesome!” he crowed, skidding to a stop. 

“Right?” Pidge agreed, grinning back. “But be careful. The energy crash from the first drive is a  _ bitch _ .” 

“True,” Allura agreed. Keith shrugged, and jumped his lion over the RV. Coran flinched at the sound the lion made crashing to the ground. 

“Careful, Keith,” he called. “We don’t want to attract any unwanted attention.” 

“Oh, don’t you?” an all-too-familiar voice said smoothly from behind the ridge. Everyone froze, and Lotor walked over the top of the ridge, hands raised in surrender. 

“Don’t shoot,” he said, his tone mocking. “I’m just here to deliver a message.” He handed a tablet to Coran, who looked at it as if it was a bomb. Knowing Lotor, it might be. He tapped the screen, and Coran watched something play for a few seconds. His face went tight and controlled, and his shoulders locked back. It was bad, then. 

“What do you want, Lotor?” he asked, his voice icy. The tone didn’t sit right on him. It made the hairs on the back of Allura’s neck stand on end. 

“You know what I want,” Lotor responded, blowing a kiss at Allura. She started forward unthinkingly, fists raised, but Pidge and Lance caught at her arms and held her back. 

“He has Shiro,” Pidge hissed in her ear. 

“You already have one of our people,” Coran continued levelly. “You’re not getting another.” 

“Let’s not pretend you’re in command here,” Lotor said, flicking a hand at him dismissively. “I didn’t come to deal with a glorified butler. I came here to deal with royalty.” 

“Watch your tone,” Allura snarled. “Coran is worth ten of you.” 

“Now, now, we know that’s not true either. But I’ll let it slide. I know how you love your pet,” Pidge was bristling beside her, although Allura wasn’t sure if it was because of Lotor’s attitude towards Coran or something else. Lotor addressed the group. “I will have Allura. You will bring her to the Badlands National Park, since you seem to love these monstrosities-” Lotor gestured around haughtily, “-so much, in the next twelve hours. If I am harmed, or if you don’t bring her, what you saw in that video is just the beginning. But, if you hand over the Princess and her pet, we’ll return him.”

“We’ll be there,” a voice called from behind the trailer, and Keith walked out, hands up. “We’ll be at your spot at that time. Don’t hurt Shiro any more.” 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Lance yelped, and Hunk gasped audibly. 

“Nice to see that someone around here is reasonable,” Lotor said. “I look forward to seeing you then.” He turned on his heel and strode off, pausing only briefly at the top of the hill to call back, “You can keep the tablet. It’s on me.” before disappearing over the ridge. There was silence until the sound of his car’s engine died away, and then chaos broke out. Lance spun towards Keith.

“You’re going to turn Allura over to that creep?” he demanded, and Pidge stalked over to Keith. He looked down at her and raised one eyebrow. She slapped him, hard, across the face. 

“Explain yourself!” she demanded.

“Oh, we’re going to be there. We’ll be there with all three lions that he doesn’t realize we have, and we’ll  _ take _ Shiro back,” Keith said, eyes blazing. “Coran, these lions fit two people, right?” 

“Yes,” Coran said hesitantly. “Two people fit about as well as they would on a motorcycle. It’s a bit cozy. But we can’t take on the Galra with only three lions! We need to be able to form Voltron to defeat them.” 

“What was on the tablet?” Keith challenged him. Coran stayed silent. “What was it, Coran?” When the older man answered, his voice was soft and careful. 

“You know the answer to that question.” 

“Yes!” Keith spat. “I do! So we’re not leaving Shiro there one more moment than is absolutely necessary!”

“It’s too dangerous,” Coran protested again, and Allura caught his eye. 

“You made me a promise,” she called. His tight posture didn’t shift an inch. 

“I did not,” he reminded her.

“Coran,” she said, quieter. He looked up at her and met her eyes without flinching. Then he sighed, and lowered the tablet to his side. 

“Yes, Princess.” 

“What about the rest of you?” Allura asked. “I can’t promise that this won’t be dangerous.” Hunk gulped, looking around at the others, and then stepped forward.

“It’s Shiro.” He took a deep breath. “I’m in.” 

“What the big man said,” Lance followed up. “I’m in too.”

“Pidge?” Allura asked.

“Of course,” Pidge said, and she turned an intense stare on Keith. “We’ll get your family back. Together.” Keith nodded solemnly, accepting the oath with due dignity despite the redness still blooming on his cheek from her earlier slap. 

“Then it’s decided.” Allura said.

“You’re not going to ask Coran about whether he’s okay with being bait?” Lance asked.

“She doesn’t have to. But we’d better get going,” Coran said. “It’s a nine-hour drive to the Badlands, and we only have twelve.” 

“How are we going to get Red there?” Keith asked, looking back at his lion. Pidge grins, and looks at Hunk. 

“Actually, we had an idea about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


	9. Blackout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle at last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. In exchange, have two chapters and an epilogue. :) See end of fic for trigger warnings for whole fic.

“She doesn’t like this,” Keith said for the fifth time. He couldn’t help it. The growing sense of discomfort in his stomach compelled him to speak. Lance glanced uneasily up at the creaking RV roof, and Pidge stared steadily out the window at the flapping edge of the tarp they’d wrapped around the poor lion. 

“It’s like a Christmas tree!” Hunk had informed him cheerily as they’d wrapped the lion in the tarp and strapped it to the roof. 

“She’ll have to hold on just a little bit longer,” Coran called back. Allura was driving, and Coran had pulled up some kind of display that Keith suspected was a recently installed weapons control system. Coran had been going off on solo shopping trips - not that he hadn’t offered to take the others along, but they’d spent their precious time in towns doing their own things. Keith had, however, glimpsed Coran leaving a pawn shop with what looked like some pretty heavy firepower after Shiro had been taken. Shiro. His thoughts broke off suddenly.

“Are you okay, Keith?” Hunk asked him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. For once, he didn’t shrug it off. It was almost nice. 

Coran hadn’t let him see the tablet. Keith had insisted that he needed all of the available information, and that he had a right to know. He’d kept pushing and pushing, but Coran had been unexpectedly unyielding. Then, when he’d moved to take it from him, Coran had nonchalantly snapped it over one knee and dropped the two halves into the dirt. Pidge had shaken her head and under her breath muttered that he was lucky it was one of the newer models because they were thin enough for nonsense like that. “Keith?” Hunk asked again, and Keith realized he’d left the question hanging for too long.

“I will be,” he answered firmly. “Once we get Shiro back.” 

“We will,” Pidge said, and the conviction in her voice gave Keith more hope than he’d admit to her. The RV skidded to a halt, and Coran turned around. 

“We’re here,” he announced. 

“All right. We have three hours. You all know your responsibilities.” Allura said. Everyone nodded. “Let’s get it done.” As they all piled out of the RV, Hunk and Pidge set to getting Red down while Lance and Coran tried to drag Green and Yellow out of the RV interior. Keith walked over to Allura. 

“Allura-” he started, and then broke off. She turned to face him, piercing blue eyes softening as she saw him standing there.

“What is it, Keith?” she asked. 

“I know that this is dangerous, especially for you and Coran,” Keith said haltingly. “And hard, being back here and around these people. I just wanted to say - thanks, I guess. And that I know how much you’re doing for me and Shiro by being here and luring them out.” She smiled somewhat uncertainly and pulled him into a hug. 

“Of course,” she whispered into his ear. “We’ll get him back. I promise.” 

The rest of the three hours passes in a blur of frantic activity, and then he’s crouched in his lion, tucked inside a crevice of crumbling stone with the eerie backdrop of the Badlands stretching out in front of him. 

“Radio check,” Coran’s voice echoes loudly out of his control panel, and Keith has to fight back his startled impulse to jump away. “Red lion?” 

“Keith here. Read you loud and clear. I’m in position.” Keith said. 

“Green lion?”

“Hunk and Pidge, read you clear,” Pidge says in a clipped tone. “In position.”

“Blue lion?” 

“Lance here. We’re standing by for Allura to show up so we can kick some Galra ass!” Lance crows. 

“And?” Coran prompts. 

“Oh, and I read you,” Lance adds, and Keith rolls his eyes. “Shut up, Keith,” Lance added.

“All right. Red, Green, wait for the signal. When we see Shiro, you’ll come out and I’ll head to my lion.” Allura’s voice is slightly louder than the others. She, like Coran, is wearing an earpiece and microphone. It seemed that Coran had undertaken some extremely thorough shopping trips. 

“We know the plan, Allura,” Pidge reminded her gently, and Allura took a deep breath. 

“Ready,” she said, her voice muffled. Talking to Coran, Keith assumes. There’s the distant sound of a car door opening and shutting, and he closes his eyes to imagine the scene. Coran and Allura, walking steadily across the large expanse of open rock. There’s an indrawn hiss of breath.

“Lotor,” Allura whispers over the comms. A long moment, presumably them walking toward each other. Then Coran’s voice, his accent slightly thicker than usual.

“Well? Here we are. Where is Shiro?” 

“Here,” a distant voice says, and Keith twitches. But Allura hasn’t given the signal yet, so-

“Shiro!” Allura cries. “You’re alive!” The signal. Keith’s lion bursts upwards, practically a part of him as he smashes up through the rock, landing on one side of the Galra agent holding Shiro. On their other side, the Green lion has just appeared, also smashing its way up through the hollow stone. There’s a clanking, which Keith distantly notes is probably gunfire hitting the lion’s exoskeleton, but mostly there’s Shiro - bruised and missing his prosthetic, looking haggard but alive. In one practiced motion, he slides the lion’s head downwards, shielding Shiro and allowing him to help Shiro up through the trapdoor. Shiro slides the door shut, awkwardly twisting until he’s seated behind Keith on the lion’s seat. 

“Keith! What-” he begins, but Keith shakes his head as he urges the lion to leap towards the encroaching Galra soldiers.

“Time for questions later,” Keith replies shortly, and opens fire on an advancing Humvee. Galra were pouring out of everywhere, and swarming onto the flat rock. There was a distant sound of shouting, and the rattle of gunfire hitting the lion was increasing. 

“Keith!” Shiro was shaking his shoulder and pointing at the console. Keith shook his head, focusing back in on the rush of noise over the intercom with effort. There was the sound of a machine gun firing, and Coran’s muffled shouts. Overlaid was Allura’s voice, level but laced with panic. 

“We are pinned down, I repeat, pinned down over by the Castle. Coran is running out of firepower and the Galra are approaching fast. Does anyone read me? We can’t hold out long over here!” There was a bang, and Allura yelped. Coran yelled something nasty-sounding in Altean and there was a louder bang. Keith wheeled his lion and turned to smash his way back towards them, but between dodging blasts from rocket launchers and trying to take out the cars between him and the Castle it was slow going. There was a huge crash over the comm, and sudden shouting in an unfamiliar language. Perhaps Galran? Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, the Galra began to drain away. Keith wheeled his suddenly free lion around to see the Green lion limping towards the Castle. 

“They’re not over here!” Pidge cried over the comms. “Does anyone have eyes on Allura and Coran?” 

“She never made it to her lion!” Lance called back. “I’m in blue now, no sign of them!” 

“I see them.” Keith said, quietly.

“What? Where? Are they okay?” Hunk called back. Keith just stared, the sight in front of him turning his blood to ice. Allura and Coran were being marched away with the retreating soldiers, pistols held at the backs of their heads and mini-guns trained on them by wary soldiers watching the two lions. 

“They have them,” Shiro said from behind him. “The Galra took them.” 

“We have to go after them!” Lance yelled, and then there was a scuffle in the ranks of the soldiers. Allura decked one and bolted, drawing the guard towards her. Coran doubled over, and the guards left him for a second to chase the princess. As soon as they were gone he began speaking quickly and quietly into his comm. 

“Get out of here, paladins! They won’t go after you for a while, not while they have us. And with the lions they could do far more damage! Lance, you’ll be able to drive blue.” The Galra had secured Allura and were dragging her back towards Coran. 

“Don’t call the police! Don’t call anyone! Get out of here and disappear!” Coran hissed before the guard seized his arms and forcibly straightened him. His voice cut off abruptly as a guard backhanded him. Allura, slumped in the arms of the other guards, didn’t move.

“We have to do what he says,” Shiro says in a strangled voice from behind him. “Go, everyone.” Keith slams a fist into the controls, sending his lion bounding away towards the castle and the green lion. 

“Is it true, Lance?” Hunk calls. “You can pilot blue?” They keep running, towards the brush where the blue lion is hidden. Halfway there, the blue lion slinks out and turns tail to join them in running away. 

“Apparently,” Lance says in the quietest voice Keith has ever heard the teen use. “Apparently I was their contingency plan.” 

“Maybe-” Keith started, and then broke off at the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him. Maybe this was the only plan, he thought. 

They kept running, but as Coran had predicted no Galra followed them. Eventually, the green lion stumbled and fell, crashing into the desert stone. The others slowed down and circled around it. They were in a large, clear area far from the roads. No lights glowed around them in the oncoming dusk. Keith and Shiro clambered out and ran to the green lion. Lance, already there, pried the trapdoor open. Inside, Hunk was curled sobbing in the corner and Pidge was sitting on the driver’s seat, staring off into nothing. Lance gently tugged Hunk out and the two of them cried, leaning into each other. Shiro wrapped an arm around Keith and he leaned into it, starting to cry as well. He could feel Shiro’s shoulders shaking. 

Behind them, Pidge got up from the seat, clambered out of the lion, and walked a few steps away from the group. Everyone turned to look as she fell to her knees, curling forward to rest her head against the ground. Keith wanted to look away, feeling like he was invading her privacy but unable to break his gaze. She tipped her head back to the rapidly-purpling sky and screamed, a long, drawn-out sound of misery and heartbreak and rage. There could have been words, but Keith wasn’t sure. The sound sent goosebumps down the back of his neck. Her head fell back down and she began to cry as well. Hunk and Lance drifted over to her, helping her up and huddling together. Shiro guided Keith towards the group, enfolding them all as best he could in a strong, one-armed hug. 

“We’ll get them back,” Lance said suddenly. His voice was choked but certain.

“How?” Hunk asked. “They were just toying with us. We couldn’t even make a dent in their numbers.”

“Not with only three lions,” Lance said, and Hunk nodded slowly. 

“There are more?” Shiro asked, looking around at the group. Lance nodded, stumbling to his feet and disappearing into the blue lion. He returned with a tiny notebook. Pidge fumbled with her phone, pulling it out of her pocket, and held it over the notebook. The group crowded around. There was a pause, and then Lance broke the silence. 

“Altean is on Google Translate?” he said, and the incredulity in his voice was somehow really funny. Despite the fear and confusion and sadness and guilt, or perhaps because of it, Keith started to laugh. Pidge looked up and smiled weakly. 

“I downloaded it at the motel. I thought, I dunno, might come in useful.” On the screen, the notebook swam into focus and froze. Google overlaid English text on top. Pidge squinted down at it.

“Reminder to pick up Allura’s… probably not real estate. Other translations… oh! Medicine.” Pidge mumbled. Hunk chuckled weakly. “Parent Teacher Association meeting on Tuesday.” There was a beat. 

“I bet the PTA was terrified of Coran,” Shiro said in such a serious voice that everyone giggled slightly. “How old are these notes?”

“Well, he’s got a photographic memory, so they seem to be just random things he jotted down to remind other people or something.” Pidge explained. 

“He does?” Shiro asked, sounding impressed. 

“Yeah, you learn a lot about someone when you travel across the country with them,” Keith said dryly. 

“Clearly I missed a few things,” Shiro said. “Go on, Pidge.” 

“Uh… random, random. Oh, here! Lion! It says… the tan lion… maybe yellow lion? Is in Rocky Mountain National Park.” 

“Well, that’s not too bad, comparatively,” Hunk noted. “And the last lion?”

“The, er, shadow lion. Black lion. It’s in-” Pidge broke off suddenly and looked up, eyes wide. “It’s in Altea.” 

“I guess we’re going to Rocky Mountain National Park.” Shiro said. “And then Altea.” 

“Is it still under Galra rule?” Lance asked Pidge, who shook her head. 

“I Googled it.” she said. “Right after they told us the story. They killed everyone and destroyed the fields and buildings. Literal salt and burn. There’s nothing left there to rule.”

“Well, we won’t have to fight our way in, then. And the Galra are probably not expecting us to leave the country. This might not be impossible.” Shiro mused. 

“It’s possible.” Keith insisted. “It has to be.” 

“Holy shit, guys!” Pidge yelped, laughter creeping into her voice. “I found out what quiznak means!” Hunk leaned over her shoulder.

“It means  _ fuck _ ?” Hunk said, taken aback. “I thought it meant like drat or something, because Coran and Allura used it so often!” 

“So, the whole time, the two of them have just been cursing like quiznaking sailors?” Lance asked, and at that they all did laugh properly, if somewhat hysterically. 

“All right. We have three lions, the Galra empire to defeat, no RV, and a minimal amount of time to get to Denver.” Shiro said, when they’d all calmed back down. “Let’s do it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


	10. Escape from Beta Traz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end of chapter for trigger warnings.

“Unhand me, you chicken-hearted cads!” Coran shouted, and Allura flinched. One of their captors that had drifted too close to her for comfort spun on him. 

“What did you call us?” the largest Galra agent spat at him. 

“Scallywags and heathens, the lot of you!” Coran yelled back, twisting slightly to keep his uninjured front facing his opponent. “You think you’re so tough, picking on a little girl?” Allura would make him pay for that comment later, if they were so lucky as to survive this. But it was worth it to draw the attention of the more brutish thugs eyeing Allura. He took the punch to the stomach as his due, and continued his tirade somewhat breathlessly. 

“The Galra empire must be running really short on agents, if they think that a bunch of schoolyard bullies who pick on children are acceptable prison guards. I could take you all on with one hand tied behind my back!” The second punch was harder to take, landing as it did on his nose. His shoulders slammed into the agents behind him and he blinked away the stars swimming before his eyes. Continuing now was a necessity - he’d drawn their attention, but he had to be sure that they kept it on him long enough to allow Allura the freedom to escape. 

“Coran, what are you doing?” Allura called, hurt in her voice. Coran wished he could spare her this, but if it was a choice between her having to watch him take a few punches and the guards choosing her as their target, he knew which one he’d pick every time.

“I’m just telling these scumbags how little they’re worth compared to me, Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe!” he yelled back, his voice sounding a bit nasally. Perhaps his nose was broken. “Then we’ll find out if they have the courage to face me or if they’re just a pack of Gollumpus!” He cringed at the made-up term, but he was under pressure after all. One of the guards stepped forward, fist raised, but the captain raised a hand to stop him. 

“I think we know who just volunteered to be interrogated by Haggar first,” the captain said with a hate-filled smile. Excellent. Just as he’d planned. The guards dragged him and Allura to a small stone cell, tossing them in unceremoniously and slamming the thick iron door shut. Coran lay still for a moment, evaluating. No ways out - no window, solid stone walls. But Allura had always been creative.

“Coran?” Allura’s voice broke, and she crawled over and rolled him onto his back. “Coran?” 

“Sorry, Princess,” Coran responded in a whisper, in case those solid stone walls were as solid as they looked or a bug had been planted. “I was just checking the cell. Once they take me outside, they’ll be distracted. If you see an opening in that time, take it.” 

“I’m not going to let you be tortured by some...  _ witch _ named Haggar!” Allura protested hotly, her own whisper really loud enough that it defeated the point of whispering. Coran propped himself upright on one of the walls and patted her cheek gently. 

“It is done, princess. They’ve chosen me to go first. Trying to order them to take a different course of action won’t go well, for either of us.” 

“You did that on purpose,” Allura protested. Of course, Coran thought, but he couldn’t tell her that. Still, he hesitated to lie to her. 

“I wanted them to stop hurting you,” he said, which was close enough to the truth that he wouldn’t be left with a guilty conscience. “Just as you wanted them to stop hurting me.” The door slammed back open and a large, broad-shouldered guard entered. He picked up Coran by the scruff of his neck, ignoring Allura’s shouts, and carried him from the room, closing the door firmly behind him and sliding an iron bolt across. 

“Time for you to meet Haggar,” he rumbled at Coran, setting him down and snapping handcuffs around his wrists. “Well. Better you than me.” Coran squared his shoulders and walked along with the guard towards an uncertain future. 

~ ~ ~

“HOW DID THIS ESCALATE SO QUICKLY?!?” Lance screamed across the road to Hunk. Beautiful and serene pine forests surrounded them as they bolted from hiding spot to hiding spot, pursued by a large bulldozer and avoiding the herd of frantic elk bolting through the area.

“I BLAME THE ELEVATION!” Pidge yelled back from her perch up a tree, from which she was flinging large sharp rocks at the Galra agent operating the bulldozer. “IT MAKES PEOPLE DO WEIRD STUFF!” 

Lance ducked under the swinging shovel and rolled across the road, wincing as the still-hot tar stuck to his arm. 

“FINE, BUT WHERE DID THE ELK COME FROM?” he shouted back. 

“THAT ONE IS MY BAD!” Shiro shouted as he shot past on a motorcycle. “I THINK I SCARED THE HERD WHEN I SHOT OFF THAT FLARE GUN!” 

“OKAY, WE REALLY NEED TO INVEST IN SOME COMMS!” Keith yelled as he bolted out of the woods. “THIS YELLING IS RIDICULOUS!” 

“LOOK OUT!” Hunk screamed, diving to shield Keith from the bulldozer bearing down on him. There was a split second when Lance was certain he was going to be struck and killed, but the ground between him and the bulldozer  _ erupted _ and a heavily armored yellow lion slammed into the bulldozer. There was a beat, and then Hunk whooped and climbed into the cockpit. The Galra agent turned and fled, but Pidge nailed him with a rock and he collapsed, head bleeding freely. 

“Well done, Hunk,” Shiro congratulated, walking over. An elk bolted past and he twisted to avoid it. “That leaves us with one lion left to find.” 

“Well, I sure hope that you can pilot it,” Pidge said, brushing sap off of her hands as she walked up. “Otherwise, this all seems rather pointless.” 

“I’m sure he will. The story wouldn’t work otherwise,” Lance said, strolling up with exaggerated nonchalance. They were almost there. 

“Story?” Pidge questioned, sounding amused. 

“You know, the epic hero’s quest?” Lance said. “It’s basic narrative structure!” 

“I thought you were an engineering student?” Hunk asked from inside the lion. 

“I am,” Lance agreed. “Also, I really miss my lion.” 

“Well, we have to drop off the yellow lion with the others before we fly to Altea,” Shiro pointed out. “You’ll see your lion then.” 

“Wish we could bring them with us,” Lanc grumbled as they all climbed onto the back of the yellow lion. 

“Pretty sure that giant metal armored exoskeletons with guns built in are not accepted by the TSA,” Pidge pointed out as they bounded towards the remote mountain cave they’d co-opted. 

“You make a reasonable case,” Lance agreed. “What now?” 

“Now we ride the bus to the airport,” Shiro said calmly. “And fly to Altea to complete the hero’s quest.” 

~ ~ ~

Allura felt sick to her stomach. The silence now was almost worse than when she’d been able to hear Coran’s cries of pain. But he’d told her to use this time well, so when the door swung open slightly she grabbed the guard outside and yanked them in, pinning them to the floor of her cell. 

“Acxa?” she gasped, not releasing her hold. Then cold ice water ran through her veins. “Are you here to bring me to get tortured next?” 

“I tried to stop them from hurting him,” Acxa gasped out from beneath her. “I really did, but Haggar is cruel and powerful and she wouldn’t listen to me.” 

“So why are you here?” Allura hissed. “And why haven’t you sounded the alarm yet?” 

“I’m here to break you out.” Acxa said. “Lotor has been filling my head with lies about unity and stability, but he stood by and watched that woman hurt Coran and he laughed.” Her tone is fierce and bitter. “I thought he was something different.” Allura eased off, only slightly. 

“I know what it is to think that of him,” she said with a wince. 

“I’m sorry,” Acxa continued. “We were wrong to attack Altea, more wrong to do what we did when we’d won. I thought that Lotor would be different than Zarkon, but…” she trailed off. “There will be a guard coming soon. If we want to escape, now is our chance.” Reluctantly, Allura let her up. 

“You’re trusting me?” Acxa said, rubbing her neck.

“I don’t have a choice.” Allura responded. “But we’re not leaving without Coran.” 

“That’s not possible,” Acxa said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out into the corridor. She led the way down twisting hallways and held up her hand to stop them at intersections. “Haggar has him, and I don’t know where she’s keeping him. It could be in the very middle of the compound.” 

“I don’t care,” Allura hissed. “He’s only in this mess because I insisted we come for Shiro. I’m not leaving him here alone.” Acxa waved her backward frantically, and they pressed back into a doorway as two guards in uniform, including a tinted helmet visor, went by. A third guard, also in uniform, opened a door across the hall, seemingly catching sight of them. Allura froze. But the guard simply stepped out and closed the door behind him. The other two guards stopped next to him. 

“Halt! State your business with the prisoner!” One of the guards said briskly. 

“What?” the third guard snapped back. “Do you not recognize your superior officer?” The guard looked uncomfortably at his partner. 

“Uh, sorry sir. What’s your name and rank?” Allura’s eyes widened. If this was what she thought it was-

“If you question me any further, Lieutenant James-” the third guard snapped.

“It’s Johnson, sir,” the guard corrected meekly. 

“You think I give a fuck who you are?” the third guard snapped back, looming intimidatingly over the other two. “I’m relieving you for disobedience. Hand over your badges and weapons and report immediately to get a new pair to patrol this hallway.” Allura held her breath, but the two guards grudgingly handed over their pistols and badges and trudged off back in the direction they’d come in. As soon as they were alone, the third guard headed towards them. Beside her, Acxa lunged.

“Acxa, no!” Allura yelped. “That’s-” Acxa hit the guard, who folded to the ground without any resistance. She ripped the helmet off to show Coran’s face, bloody and bruised but smiling. 

“Hello, Acxa. I knew you’d come around,” he said. Acxa jumped to her feet, apologizing profusely. Coran lay still on his back and waved off her apologies. Allura came forward to help him up, although it ended up taking both her and Acxa. Acxa wrapped Coran’s arm over her shoulders, holding a majority of his weight. 

“How did you get through that whole performance after all of what Haggar did to you?” Acxa hissed as she dragged the re-helmeted Altean through the hallways. Allura, a few steps ahead, checked another intersection and listened for his answer. He answered faintly.

“Mostly knowing that if I messed up, they’d kill me. It was a bit of a quiznacking mess.” 

“Well, you’ve armed us and gotten yourself free, so I’d say you didn’t do too poorly.” Allura called back softly. “Clear.” They headed out into a hallway, but rapidly drew back as a platoon of soldiers began to round the corner. Acxa pulled them back into  doorway marked maintenance and locked the door behind them. 

“We’re pinned in.” she said. “We’ll be safe here for a while, but we’re going to need some distraction to pull the soldiers outside.” 

“Yes,” Coran said, leaning back on the wall and closing his eyes. “I believe the others are working on that.”

~ ~ ~

Altea really was destroyed. They’d flown into a neighboring country, not yet under Galra attack, and hiked across the border. On the other side, soot and smoke stained the ground and air. Every building they’d passed had been either smashed into smithereens or was a burnt-out husk.  The worst part of it was the large patches of loose dirt. Mass graves. Shiro hadn’t pointed them out to the others, but he suspected they still knew. The tug in Shiro’s bones was getting stronger, though, so he followed it onwards and through the destroyed villages. Eventually, they came over a hill and a silhouette loomed ahead of them. A castle.

“Well, quiznak,” Lance muttered. “I get why Coran named the RV the Castle.” The castle that they were approaching was sleek and metallic, complex mechanisms dotting the outside. Huge holes, however, gaped in the sides of the castle. Bloodstains ran down the walls in patches, and the ground around the entrance was torn apart with bullet holes. 

“Pidge, Hunk, can you get us through the doors?” he asked. Pidge nodded, linking up her laptop to a… something outside of the door closest to them. She typed away, Hunk occasionally leaning in and offering suggestions. After only a few moments, the doors slid open.

“Good job,” Shiro said, but Pidge was just staring at her computer. “What is it?” 

“We wrote a program to find the password,” Pidge said. 

“Yes, and you did a good job.” Shiro said, confused as to the expression on the young woman’s face. 

“The password is ‘honey i’m home’,” Pidge said, her voice serious. “That’s Allura’s laptop password.”

“She is the princess, after all,” Hunk said softly. “It makes sense that she’d have lived in the castle,” 

“I just… she lived here! She knew these people! How-” Pidge broke off with a grunt, folding her laptop up and sticking it in her backpack. 

“I don’t know how,” Shiro admitted. “But she’s with the monsters that did this now, so let’s focus on getting that lion.” He led the way into the castle, which unlike the outside was littered with skeletons. The group got very quiet and very serious as he led the way into the basement. It was dark at first, but as he started to look for his flashlight an eerie purple light lit up the basement. 

“Hang on,” Lance whispered. “We can’t take the lion back on the plane. How are we going to-”As they came down the last steps, they caught sight of the black lion. It was roughly twice as large as the others, with electric blue wings shot with streaks of dark red. “Never mind.” Lance whispered. “Shiro, you know how to fly, right?” 

~ ~ ~ 

After the first two hours had passed, Coran had turned an alarming shade of ashy grey. Allura and Acxa had pulled the armor off of him when he’d stopped responding, and the pattern of bruises and fresh gashes made Allura’s face go tight and pale. Acxa had found a first aid kit and they’d bandaged him up as best as they could. Then they’d sat down to wait for the others. An interminable time later, an alarm had sounded. Someone had noticed they were missing. 

“How long has it been since we were captured?” Allura whispered. 

“Roughly 24, 30 hours?” Acxa whispered back. “Why?” Allura’s answer was cut off by a crashing sound so loud the vibration rumbled through the rock floors. 

“I guess that was long enough,” Allura said, and grabbed Coran’s arm. “We have to get outside. Our distraction has just arrived.” 

The hallways were long but empty, and it took them only a few moments to emerge from a side door onto the battlefield. Voltron, complete in its full and glorious form, was easily sideswiping tanks with single swings of its huge sword. 

“What the fuck is that?” Acxa hissed. 

“The reason why you’re going to be glad you chose our side,” Coran said, smiling fiercely. 

“Voltron!” Allura yelled, and the head twisted in her general direction. “Over here!” In one smooth motion, the giant robotic humanoid leapt towards them, crashing to the ground around them and shielding them from the Galra agents. The doors in the blue and yellow lions swung open to reveal a grinning Lance and Hunk. 

“We came to rescue you but it seems like you might have that under control!” Lance shouted. Allura herded Acxa into his cabin, while Hunk clambered out of his lion to support Coran and help him into Yellow. Above them, Shiro opened fire on the Galra encroaching on their new position. Allura swung herself in after Acxa, squeezing into the lion’s small chamber. 

“Who’s this?” Lance said, glancing at Acxa as he swung Voltron’s leg around to smash through part of the base. When her teeth had stopped rattling in her skull, Allura answered.

“An ally, I hope,” she said, and Acxa gave her a curious look. A few moments passed in jarring glimpses caught out of the lion’s windows. 

“Good job, everyone,” Shiro’s voice said through the intercom. “The base is destroyed. Is everyone alright?” 

“Coran’s hurt, but he seems stable,” Hunk responded. “Allura?” 

“We’re okay here. If you’re sure Coran is stable, we should avoid hospitals for a while in case any remaining Galra agents are after us.” 

“Ezor and Zethrid  weren’t in the base,” Acxa warned. 

“We haven't seen  Narti ,” Allura reminded her. “Is she a threat as well?” 

“No.” Acxa said, her voice suddenly sad. “Lotor killed her for standing up to him during Coran’s interrogation.” 

“Hence the sudden change of heart?” Shiro asked. His tone was sharp.

“I am so sorry about that,” Acxa replied. “When I helped capture you, I had no idea what they planned to do. I thought you would just be a hostage, a bargaining chip.” 

“We’ll discuss it later. Right now, what matters is the plan. Allura?” Allura closed her eyes for a long moment, and then smiled. 

“It’s time to push the Galra back out of the countries they’ve taken over. Time to defeat the Empire once and for all. We’re going to start a resistance.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silly hapless fluff to go around!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this fic has been a wild ride. I hope some people make it all the way to the end. Let me know what you think in the comments if you feel so inclined! :)

**Pidge:**

“We took out a Galra group carrying prisoners across the border and… well, you’re going to want to see this, Pidge.” A vague message, to be sure, but the look of joy on Hunk’s face… Pidge was sprinting through the hallways of the new castle, Atlas, dodging around various people of various nationalities. Occasionally she muttered an apology as she burst through larger groups of people. Coran jumped to one side to allow her to continue her shortcut through the tunnel system, and Allura’s pet mice ran chittering alongside her. Finally, she slammed through the door into the paladin’s den and saw him. 

“MATT!” she shouted, launching herself nearly horizontally into a hug. Matt stumbled back under the onslaught, but wrapped his arms around her cheerfully regardless. 

“Katie? What are you doing here?” 

“Oh my god, you’re okay, this is amazing,” Pidge babbled before smacking her brother on the back of his head. 

“Ow! What!” 

“I have been worried sick about you! Where’s dad?” Matt patted her gently on the shoulders. “You guys just raided his work camp, it was right next to where I was being held. He should be here shortly.” 

“I can’t believe you guys actually got captured by the Galra! They said you were dead!” Pidge rambled, hugging Matt again. Still there. Hunk was grinning at her from behind her brother, and she mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him. 

“So… you live in a castle now?” Matt said, looking around with awe. 

“Didn't you hear? I’m one of the Paladins of Voltron!” And for the first time in Pidge’s entire life, she saw Matt Holt speechless. She giggled. “C’mon, I’ll show you around!” And she bounced off, her family about to be back together again. 

 

**Lance:**

“Hey everyone!” Lance crowed as the usual swarm of cousins, nieces, and nephews, overwhelmed him. He held up a large bag. “I brought presents! But you only get them if you behave!” And like magic, he was standing on his own two feet again. His mother swept him into a tight hug and then smiled at him, brushing his hair back from his face. 

“You need a haircut,” she told him. 

“Moooooom,” Lance groaned. 

“It’s so good to see you, mijo,” she said, softer, and he threw his arms back around her. 

“Hey, brother!” Veronica called. “Come meet Mei, my girlfriend!” Lance shook the proffered woman’s hand politely and smiled at her. 

“Sorry I missed your first family dinner,” he said apologetically. “I was fleeing government assassins from a totalitarian regime that wanted to kill my friend and her uncle.”

“He’s not being totally rude,” Veronica said, shooting a glare in his direction. “That _ is _ actually what happened.” Lance shrugged, and Veronica bumped shoulders with him.

“The US army is sending out some reinforcements for you guys,” she said in an aside. “I’m going with them.” 

“You’re going to come live in Atlas too?” Lance asked back quietly, watching Mei try to bribe a small child into returning her shoe. 

“Me and Mei. You’ll have to put up with us hanging out with you sometimes, I’m afraid.” Lance’s eyes swum with tears. “What’s this, so sad about having to entertain?” Veronica teased. Lance hugged her tightly and shook his head.

“Just got some dust in my eyes,” he muttered. 

 

**Keith & Shiro:**

Adam and Shiro were laughing as the flour settled to the ground. The pancakes had gone horribly awry, the kitchen was at least partially on fire, the eggs had… melted somehow? Something had gone wrong, in short, with making his dads breakfast in bed. But when the fire alarm had gone off, they’d rushed out of their room to come save him from himself.

“Keith?” Shiro said, fighting his way through the haze of flour to the batter-splattered teen. “Are you alright?” 

“Yep,” Keith said, trying to project nonchalance and control. “Just doing some cooking.” 

“Is that so?” Adam asked, tip-toeing delicately around a spreading puddle of milk. 

“Yep,” Keith said, meeting the inquisitive look with a look that hopefully projected innocence. It lasted about five seconds before the three of them dissolved into giggles and went to go ask Hunk if he’d make them some pancakes for Father’s Day. 

 

**Hunk:**

“So now we pour this mixture into the soufflé dish,” Hunk instructed the small crowd of refugees. “And voila! We bake it!” His audience applauded and then set about pouring and baking. Hunk smiled contentedly to himself. 

“Yo, Hunk!” Pidge called, sliding into the room in socks. The other bakers neatly stepped around her, used to these kinds of antics by now. “How goes the cooking class?”

“Good! This batch will be ready to go out and start productive careers in cooking in no time! How was your programming class?” 

“A few of the refugees were having a hard time, so I held office hours,” Pidge sounds very proud of this fact. “But yeah, they should all be ready to head out into software jobs soon.” 

“I have to admit, as much as I like missions with Voltron I do really like the volunteering in career readiness,” Hunk said with a smile. “Maybe someday some nice girl will come along and bond with Yellow, and then I’ll have to give up Voltron and help people like this full time. You know, for the good of her career.” Pidge rolled her eyes good-naturedly but one of his class members giggled. Hunk blushed. 

“That’s Shae?” Pidge whispered, leaning closer to him.

“Yes,” Hunk whispered back. 

“She totally likes you too,” Pidge whispered back, and Hunk smiled. 

 

**Allura & Coran:**

“And you’re sure that this mall doesn’t have any of those nasty Unilu swap shops?” Coran asked, eying Allura suspiciously. 

“Of course it does!” Allura chirped back. “All malls have those somewhere!” 

“Last time we went to the mall, Allura, you and the paladins brought back a cow.” 

“That’s true. We also left you to do all the actual shopping,” Allura said, apologetically. “So, since we have a little bit of time and money, I figured I would take you on a proper mall adventure.” 

“Unilu and all?” Coran asked, smiling. 

“Unilu and all.” Allura responded. She reached over and switched on the radio in the rather junky, open-air jeep that she was driving, and music started blaring. 

“It’s ABBA!” Coran crowed, and of course began singing along at the top of his lungs. 

“Dancing queen, feel the beat of the tambourine, oh yeaaaaaah!” he drawled, and Allura giggled. 

“Yooooooou can dance!” she joined in, singing between fits of helpless laughter. As they pulled up to the mall, she switched off the radio and caught her breath, still giggling. Then, looking self-consciously back over her shoulder as she got out of the car, she hesitated. 

“Love you, dad,” she said, and quickly shut the door, heading towards the mall. Coran hopped out behind her, bouncing along after her. And if there were tears in his eyes, well, Lance had already noted how dusty the area was, after all. 

 

**Kaltenecker:**

“Moooooooooooooooo,” Kaltenecker said, contentedly munching on grass.

“Yeah,” Lance said, smiling up at her. “I’m happy too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings: children in dangerous situations, mentioned previous deaths & grieving, genocide & war, racism, refugees, amputation, kidnapping, orphans, torture


End file.
